Dearest St. Mel Families,

“Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, GRACE, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching us and it is important for us to take this time to reflect on the happiness we have experienced in our lives and give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us. God reveals Himself to us in the forms of blessings, little moments of GRACE that remind us that we are never really alone. These are the experiences and moments, both easy and challenging that touch our lives and expand our capacity to love.

On Thanksgiving, we sit down together and offer thanksgiving in the form of prayer or GRACE to God. GRACE. As the fifth grade and kindergarten beautifully inspired us on All Souls Day – it really is AMAZING GRACE.  In Latin it is gratia or gratus. A beautiful word in itself, but its meaning holds the most beauty. GRACE is the divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

We are blessed to have hearts and souls filled with Christ’s love and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to share this love with others. It is a season for thanks...A time in which we see or hear or feel the wonders of the other moments of the year. It is a season for time…A time in which we think of pasts that make our present rich and bountiful. It is a season for joy…a time in which we share a gift of laughter, warm and gentle as a smile. This is a season for peace…a time in which we touch each other and know that we are one. Above all, this is a season for GRACE…a time in which we recognize these plentiful blessings of strength, hope, and love.

“If we could be today what time, that is to say, GRACE, could make of us tomorrow…Only God can say what this new Spirit growing within each of us will be. Give God the benefit of believing that His hand is leading you…Above all trust in the slow work of God.” (Teilhard de Chardin)

Thank you, students for the moments of GRACE you share with each other, your teachers, the staff, and the administration. Thank you, parents for your constant support and for sharing your gifts and talents with our community. Thank you, faculty and staff for your AMAZING ability to fill each of our days with GRACE and for inviting us daily to the bountiful table of our Lord. Life holds many blessings, thank you for being one of them!

Many Blessings and Thanksgiving,

Mary Beth Giordano