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Thanksgiving 2005 Ocala A few years ago in the Orlando Sentinel, I clipped an article from the Thanksgiving issue titled: "Blessed then, --- blessed now!" The subtitle was: "The wise words that President George Washington used in proclaiming the first official Thanksgiving, are worthy of consideration today." The first official National Thanksgiving Day , the article stated, was proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress in 1789. Because Mr. Washington's words are as meaningful to Americans today as then, The Orlando Sentinel is pleased to reprint his proclamation on this Thanksgiving Day 1995. I quote in full this proclamation. "Whereas, it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, --- to obey His will, --- to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States, a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts, the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness;" "Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty -sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States, to the service of that Great and Glorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, -- that is, -- or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our service, and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the people of this Country, previous to their becoming a Nation;" "for the signal and manifold mercies of the favorable interpositions of His Providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union and plenty, which we have since enjoyed; for the civil and religious liberty, with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge, and in general, for all those great and various favors, which He has been pleased to confer upon us. " "And also, that we may then unite most humbly in offering our prayers and supplications, to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him, to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our duties properly and punctually, to render our National Government, as a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind, such a degree of temporal prosperity, as He alone knows to be best." "Given under my hand, at the City of New York, the third day of October, A.D. 1789." --- George Washington With the unbelievable laws promulgated in our time, I wonder if any Members of our Senate and Congress, as well as our Supreme Court has ever read this proclamation. Perhaps they may have scanned it, and just as quickly forgot about it, being that so many of their decisions, are contrary to what our first great President believed. His proclamation constitutes a powerful sermon, based on the Bible. If our authorities, were true to our Founding Fathers, we would have a more tranquil Country. It seems to have been left up to the average citizens, to keep alive the moral principles as emphasized by the President George Washington. If it was his time, would he have removed prayer from our Schools, which so many of us vividly remember, and which has so very deeply cost our Country? Would he have permitted the granite stone, inscribed with the 10 Commandments, to have been removed from the Alabama Courthouse? God bless that judge, who insisted upon keeping it, and as a result, was stripped of his position, for standing so faithfully on principle. One wonders; how could we have drifted so far from the lofty principles of our Country, which made it the Greatest Country in the world? I'm amazed, that our law-givers are constantly creating new laws, to supposedly bind the wounds of our Country. Whereas, they should be listening, considering, and collaborating with the efforts of our God-fearing Families, where Parents are constantly striving and struggling, to inculcate in the hearts and minds of our children, the loftiest ideals of God and Country! It would serve our Country so well, if these law-makers would digest George Washington's proclamation, and seek to give it substance. Only then, could our great Country get back on the track, and not have, as we witness a runaway train! Washington's proclamation brought vividly to my mind, the uplifting words of St. Paul, from the 5th Chapter of his first Epistle to the Thessalonians, verse 18: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God, in Christ Jesus!. The conscientious Christian does keep this phrase uppermost in his or her mind. Thinking about St. Paul's words, I would state, that giving thanks is a God-given privilege, --- a God-given virtue. When the Lord at the Last supper raised the cup of wine with the bread, he firstly gave thanks. That is why, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist we served again today, is titled the Sacrament of thanks. Eucharist is the Greek word "Efcharisto," meaning thanks. You may remember, that when the Lord cured the 10 lepers, only one returned to thank the Lord for his cure, and he was not one of God's chosen people, but a Samaritan. And the Lord said to the Samaritan, "were not the 10 lepers cured? Where are the other nine?" Unfortunately, so many, even Christians, can be classified in the group of the nine, simply because, they have become "selfsufficient to feel the redeeming and preserving Grace; -- too proud to pray to God, Who created us, as President Abraham Lincoln stated in his proclamation." How inspired, and how inspiring, these Presidents were! Abraham Lincoln wrote: "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in prosperity; we have grown in numbers, in wealth, and in power, as no other Nation has ever grown! " "But, we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the Gracious Hand, which has preserved us in peace, and multiplied, and enriched, and strengthened us; also, we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these things were produced by some superior wisdom, and virtue of our own!" Thus spoke another of our Great Presidents. As Members of our Mission here in the Ocala area, we are indeed, ever mindful of our Lord's bounties, and are diligently applying ourselves to promote the Lord's work, by establishing our Orthodox presence in this area. It is a veritable Community effort. When we pause to consider, how we started, discounting our first two years, we have truly accomplished more, than we could ever have imagined. What has seen us through, is the fact, that our Lord's love prevails in our hearts, and we continue to operate as true brothers and sisters. The road ahead may present itself as somewhat difficult, but we firmly believe, that all things are possible to those, who truly believe. As St. Paul stated "to give thanks in everything," this, we truly do. We are so very thankful, primarily for our spiritual gifts -- we are also thankful for our material gifts --- but no less, we are thankful for the spirit we deeply sense of our brotherhood and sisterhood, --we are thankful for our Holy Orthodox Church, which we have pledged to propagate and perpetuate, as the true Church of Christ. We are thankful for the freedom in our great Country and pray that we can find our way back on the tracks, from which we were derailed. We are thankful, and do pray for our gallant men and women of our Armed Forces, many of whom have given their last measure, to guarantee us our personal freedom. We are thankful for our Families, and the Great united Family of our Holy Mission here in the Ocala area. I pray that we may never depart from the spirit of true love and devotion, which has brought us to an enviable position. Lastly I pray, that we all really enjoy the proper spirit of Thanksgiving, which goes beyond the sumptuous Thanksgiving table. We thank God wholeheartedly, for having brought us together, to function as one Family, with Him, as our Head and Provider. God bless us all. +Fr. George Papadeas
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