A Normal Thanksgiving!  Well, I’m happy to report that the “Griswold Family” had a normal Thanksgiving.  Even WE were amazed that nothing unusual happened.  We had a few people who couldn’t join us because of colds and/or the flu, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary happened.  Sorry to disappoint you!

I was responsible for the turkeys (I always say it’s the easiest part of the meal).  In the end, I cooked three 12 pound turkeys and they turned out great.  I had two fresh turkeys, and one smoked one.  Someone suggested I try cooking fresh turkeys rather than frozen ones.  So I did.  I wasn’t even aware that Kroger sold fresh turkeys.  I only ever knew about the frozen kind.  So when I inquired, I was surprised to find them.  Then, as I was mulling around Kroger trying to figure out if I should cook a turkey breast for some added meat, I stumbled upon two frozen fully cooked hickory smoked turkeys.  So I grabbed one and added it to my cart.  The victory with this great find was that with the sale Kroger had going on, that extra turkey only cost me $5.  You couldn’t beat that deal!
 
Once our family got settled in their chairs for dinner and almost immediately after we prayed and started passing the food, people started getting nostalgic about Thanksgiving Days gone by.  Much to my surprise, the storytelling quickly came back to the Thanksgiving of 2007!  That was THE Thanksgiving where I went rogue and decided to make a healthy Thanksgiving Day meal.  I was laughing as I listened to my family, especially my niece and nephews, recalling the exquisite cauliflower “potatoes” or the corn without butter and salt, the low fat apple and pumpkin pies (actually I don’t even think they were pies but rather a low fat type cobbler).  The Thanksgiving Day meal of 2007 will go down in history as one of the worst for our family!  It was awful.  Then they started talking about the food runs people made AFTER that infamous dinner; one made a pizza run another went to Kentucky Fried Chicken.  You might recall that as a result of my most memorable meal, I was exiled from helping with the Thanksgiving Day preparations for a few years.  After my period of exile, I got the whole meal from Boston Market and Meijer’s for a couple of years.  While that worked for a time, I now have my contribution of making the turkeys down to a science (and no one has complained).  I don’t even panic anymore when my turkeys get done too early or if they’re still somewhat frozen when I start prepping things on Thanksgiving morning!  Yes, “Uncle Mike” has come a long way since the fiasco of 2007!  It’s taken a while, but I finally have the Thanksgiving Day meal “down pat;” now I’ve got to work on the meal options for the other 364 days!
 
Retirement Fund for Religious:  This weekend, we take up the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious.  This was one of Sr. Carol’s favorite appeals to make to the parish community each year.  With Sr. Carol’s help, our parish community has always been extraordinarily generous to the Retirement Fund for Religious.   This annual appeal benefits some 35,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests—women and men who have consecrated their lives to serving God and the Church. Pope Francis tells us, “Every consecrated person is a gift for the People of God on its journey.” Many of us, me included, can recall special women or men religious who played meaningful roles in our lives. This may have been the sister who taught us in second grade. Or perhaps it was the religious brother who led us on retreat and nourished our spiritual growth. Their support of our journeys often required great sacrifices on their part. Most senior religious worked for small stipends, leaving a substantial gap in retirement savings. As a result, hundreds of religious communities now struggle to provide adequate care for aging members. The Retirement Fund for Religious offers us an opportunity to support elder religious in this phase of their journeys. Your gift provides vital funding for medications, nursing care, and more. It also helps religious congregations implement long-term retirement strategies that ensure both quality eldercare and continued service to the People of God.  I recognize this is but one of numerous worthy causes in need of assistance; I simply ask that you give what you can. If you were unprepared to give to the Retirement Fund for Religious this weekend, simply drop your gift in next weekend’s collection or mail it to the Parish Center. You can also donate online by following the link on the homepage of our parish website.
 
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception: NOT a Holy Day of Obligation this Year:  This will definitely confuse people on multiple levels.  First of all, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, December 9 ^th, because December 8 ^th falls on a Sunday this year.  The reason for the move is that the Second Sunday of Advent “outranks” the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, so the solemnity is transferred to the following day.  Usually, we would be required to attend Mass on the Immaculate Conception if December 8 ^th falls on a Monday.  BUT, the obligation to attend Mass is not transferred when the feast is transferred.  Yes, it’s rather confusing.  I guess all you need to know is that THIS YEAR the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is not a holy day of obligation.  Our mass schedule on Monday will be our normal daily schedule of 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
 
With the celebration of the Immaculate Conception, “we recall that Mary, free from original sin, remained free of all sin throughout her life.  This means that she always chose to be faithful to God’s will, even in the most difficult times.  Mary was a human being who, as the Second Vatican Council taught, was on a ‘pilgrimage of faith.’  Even when her faith was tested, she remained steadfast.  As the Council also affirmed, she freely cooperated ‘in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience.’  The Blessed Mother shows us what it means to be a faithful follower of her Son.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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