Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Rosalie and
St. John Bosco Parishes and School,

Happy November! Happy Month of Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of the four goals of prayer: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (ACTS).

This theme of National Thanksgiving goes all the way back to our 1st President, George Washington, and is deeply embedded in the consciousness of our country with a special Thanksgiving Day Weekend.

Giving thanks is an important element of all life: religious, civil, and familial.

According to the Harvard Medical School: “Gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

Giving thanks is a simple prescription which yields great benefits.

Harvard Medical School offers several ways to increase one’s gratitude:
Write a thank-you note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank-you letter or email expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person's impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself.

Thank someone mentally. No time to write. It may help just to think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.
Keep a gratitude journal. Make it a habit to write down or share with a loved one thoughts about the gifts you've received each day.

Count your blessings. Pick a time every week to sit down and write about your blessings — reflecting on what went right or what you are grateful for. Sometimes it helps to pick a number — such as three to five things — that you will identify each week. As you write, be specific and think about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.

Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude.
Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as "peace"), it is also possible to focus on what you're grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).

Gratitude is an important part of all prayer.  Gratitude is an important way of life. Let’s cultivate a daily practice of gratitude this month and carry it with us throughout our lives.

I have incorporated this simple phrase in my daily prayer: “Thank you, Lord, for these recent blessings:” Then I mention three things for which I am grateful to God.  This is an easy way to daily keep thanksgiving in mind.

God loves you!
Fr. Mark