Thanksgiving Celebrations

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we are supposed to be thankful for the things that we have, even if we are not particularly religious. In the Catholic religion, there are special prayers that you can learn to use at Thanksgiving.

Here are some Thanksgiving prayers that Catholics use to express their thanks on Thanksgiving.

Prayer one: Thanksgiving Prayer - From Songs of Our Hearts, Meditations of Our Souls; Prayers for Black Catholics
This Thanksgiving let those of us who have much and those who have little gather at the welcoming table of the Lord. At this blessed feast, may rich and poor alike remember that we are called to serve one another and to walk together in God's gracious world. With thankful hearts we praise our God who like a loving parent denies us no good thing.

Today and every day, it pleases God for us to sit as brothers and sisters as we share the bounty of the earth and the grace God has placed on each blessed soul. For this we all give thanks and praise to our loving and gracious God.

Prayer two: Thanksgiving Table Prayer - From Celebrating Faith: Year-round Activities For Catholic Families
O Gracious God, we give you thanks for your overflowing generosity to us. Thank you for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank you for our health, our work and our play. Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick, and suffering war and violence. Open our hearts to your love. We ask your blessing through Christ your son. Amen.

Prayer three: Prayer at Harvest and Thanksgiving - From Living God's Justice: Reflections and Prayers
O God, source and giver of all things,
You manifest your infinite majesty, power and goodness
In the earth about us:
We give you honor and glory.
For the sun and the rain,
For the manifold fruits of our fields:
For the increase of our herds and flocks.
We thank you.
For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace,
We are grateful.

Supreme Lord of the harvest.
Graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil,
In union with Jesus, your son.
As atonement for our sins.
For the growth of your Church.
For peace and love in our homes,
And for salvation for all.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer four: Prayer of Thanksgiving by Walter Rauschenbusch
O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water.
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds.
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thornbush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

What is important to remember is that there is no right or wrong prayer to use at Thanksgiving. Only you and your family can decide what prayer is right for you, whether that prayer comes from the ones listed above or another prayer that is handed down through family tradition.