Kobza's Komments

I’m always interested to see what the word of the year is going to be and it is no surprise that Dictionary.com awarded it to “pandemic”. It has totally changed how we approached things or as the coined phrase: “new normal”. My Sunday mass “new normal” is watching it through livestream or on the Salt and Light channel.  This past Sunday the mass was from Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal.  As it was the third Sunday of Advent, the theme of the homily was joy.  The priest talked about how the root of joy is gratefulness: it is not joy that makes us grateful, but it is gratitude that makes us joyful.

With the pandemic and everything that has come with it, it isn’t always easy to feel joyful. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude can help us feel more joy.  About ten years ago, I read about a gratitude challenge and like a good mom, I decided that our family would do this as a Lenten challenge. Every night during supper we would go around the table and share a few things that we were grateful for.  My two teen aged sons were not really into the challenge, but I told them they had no choice and they grudgingly went along with it. By the time Lent was over, it felt that we had drawn closer together as a family through our gratitude sharing. After Lent was over, we continued this tradition during special occasion meals.  A couple of years ago, we sat down for Christmas supper and I thought that maybe my sons, who were in their twenties, were now too old for our gratitude tradition. I wasn’t going to ask the question, but to my surprise, my son asked it, “So mom, what are three things you are grateful for?” It brought joy to my heart to hear him ask this question and it is one we continue to this day.  I’m pretty sure that our puppy Dexter is going to be mentioned a few times around the Christmas supper table this year.

One of our calls to action in our faith plan is to Be Grateful.  We are challenged to acknowledge the presence of God and give thanks to Him for our blessings.  We can all use a little more joy in our lives so I challenge you this Christmas season to take up the gratitude challenge with your family. Here are some ideas of where to start in case you are having trouble thinking of things:

• Something you did
• A good thing that happened today
• Something you love about a family member
• The best thing that happened to you during the day
• Something or someone that made you laugh
• Technology that you used today
• Something you learned
• The gifts and talents God gave you
• Someone or something that inspired you
• A part of nature that you enjoy

Let’s spread a little joy with the simple act of gratitude.  Maybe it may become your “new normal” for 2021. Have a blessed and safe holiday.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.