Thanksgiving: The Day We Forgot to Remember

 

Between skeletons and snowmen, Thanksgiving seems to vanish. I walked into a store just before Labor Day and the aisles bursting with Halloween candy and costumes. A few weeks later, I returned for Halloween treats, only to find Christmas lights and artificial trees already on sale. Somewhere between the spooky and the sparkly, Thanksgiving got lost.

But it wasn’t always this way.

From the time the Pilgrims stepped onto Plymouth Rock, families gathered to share the bounty of their harvests, to break bread together, and to give thanks. For over three centuries, Thanksgiving was a sacred pause, a moment to recognize divine grace, to strengthen spiritual bonds, and to celebrate the ideals that helped a fledgling nation flourish: religious freedom, shared prosperity, safe harbor, and gratitude.

Now, Thanksgiving risks becoming just a springboard for the shopping season. November 27^th is less about reflection and more about strategy: planning routes and lining up for pre-Black Friday sales. As the football blares, the turkey roasts, and somewhere in the noise, the spirit of the day fades.

But I believe Thanksgiving still matters.

It should be a day when we gather, not just to nourish our bodies, but to feed our souls. A day to remember that gratitude is not seasonal. It’s foundational in our daily lives.

Not every Thanksgiving is “over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house.” Some of us have eaten from a Mermite container dropped from a chopper at a Firebase overseas. Some have shared crackers in a hospital waiting room, or sat alone at a truck stop, a police station, or the Salvation Army. And yet, even in those places…Thanksgiving can live.

Gratitude doesn’t require perfection. It asks only presence.

I was reminded of this recently at a local restaurant. A young man sat beside me in a wheelchair; he had lost both legs and his right arm serving as a Marine in Iraq. We talked for a while, and then he said something that still moves me: “I’m just thankful I still have my eyesight. I thank God every day I’m alive.”

That’s Thanksgiving!

King David wrote in Psalm 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” And Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:20 to give thanks “always… for everything.”

As men of faith, we carry that spirit with us. Thanksgiving isn’t confined to a single Thursday. It’s a daily posture. A pilgrim’s pause. A moment to look beyond the rush, the noise, the ads, and to remember what truly sustains us.

So, this year, whether you’re at a grand table or in a quiet corner, may your heart be full. May your prayers be heartfelt. And may your gratitude echo in the footsteps of those first pilgrims, who paused, gave thanks, and lit a candle of tradition that still flickers today.

Veterans Day 2025 Thank You and Honoring All Who Served

Poster by the U.S. Veterans Administration

 

Tolerance Tuesday-Listening as a Masonic Discipline

In a world brimming with noise, the act of listening-truly listening-is a radical form of tolerance. Within Freemasonry, listening is more than courtesy. It is a discipline, a moral posture, and a sacred duty.

We are taught to meet on the level, act by the plumb, and part upon the square. But how often do we pause to hear, not just the words spoken, but the silences between them? How often do we listen with the intent to understand, rather than to reply?

 The Symbolic Silence

In Masonic ritual, silence is not emptiness...it is preparation. The candidate enters the Lodge in silence, blindfolded, guided by trust. Before he speaks, he listens. Before he is given light, he receives instruction. This symbolic silence teaches humility, receptivity, and the power of presence.

Listening is the first gesture of brotherhood. It is how we honor the dignity of another’s experience, even when it differs from our own.

 Listening as Labor

To listen well is to labor. It requires:

• Patience: Letting others finish their thoughts without interruption.

• Empathy: Hearing not just the words, but the emotions beneath them.

• Restraint: Holding back judgment, allowing space for truth to unfold.

• Curiosity: Asking questions that invite deeper understanding.

These are not passive traits...they are active disciplines. They mirror the working tools of the Mason: the square of fairness, the level of equality, the compasses of self-restraint.

 Listening Builds the Temple

When we listen, we build. We lay stones of trust, mortar of understanding, and arches of shared meaning. Listening is how we construct the invisible temple of fraternity, one conversation at a time.

In a divided world, listening is an act of repair. It is how we bridge generations, cultures, and creeds. It is how we embody the Masonic ideal: that truth, when spoken and heard in love, can unite what ignorance has divided.

 Reflection and Action

This week, consider:

• Who in your life needs to be heard—not advised, not corrected, but simply heard?

• What assumptions do you carry that silence another’s truth?

• How might your Lodge practice listening—not just in ritual, but in fellowship?

Let us be builders of understanding. Let us listen not just with ears, but with hearts attuned to the sacred dignity of every voice.

See You Next Tuesday.