As we approach the end of the first semester, two significant holidays present themselves: Christmas and Thanksgiving. I know that the order I’ve used is not right chronologically, but I suggest that the logical order is precisely as it should be.

Christmas reminds us of God’s initiative in creating us, in revealing Himself to us, and in giving Himself to us in the person of Jesus. We are always in the position of receiving from God, Whose goodness overflows so that we benefit from His generosity.

Thus, we come to Thanksgiving. Gratitude must be our first response to God and His bountiful goodness. But this gratitude is not a passive stance; it calls us to a generous activity, whereby we share our goods with others in imitation of God, the source of all that we have and are.

To my mind, one of the five most important days in Jesuit’s year is the Thanksgiving Drive, when we turn every resource of our community to the service of others. In so doing, we acknowledge with gratitude that even the opportunity to serve is itself a gift of God, whereby we are privileged to act with a generosity modeled on what we experience from Him.

May this generous God, Who is rich in mercy and Who calls us to grateful service, bless you now and always.

Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, Jr., S.J. ’76
President