A Cornucopia of Gratitude

by Bishop William Joensen | November 26, 2025

Less than a week before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 21, we honor the Blessed Virgin in a special way as we recall the event of her Presentation. Sacred tradition tells us that Saints Joachim and Anne, who had been childless, were grateful for the birth of their daughter. In thanksgiving they brought Mary, about 3 years old at the time, to the temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated to God.

In her purity, humility, and gracefulness, Mary’s whole being declared “yes” to God long before the Angel Gabriel proposed that she would give birth to Our Savior.

Like Saints Joachim and Anne, we proceed to thank God for the life and blessings he bestows on us and through us to others, for prayers heard, and for his immense love for us mediated by Mary.

For You

As I reflect on this past year, a bounty of blessings is evident. First and foremost, I’m grateful for you. Each of you is a blessing to your families, your parishes, and to our diocesan faith community. You come to worship, to praise God and accompany one another, sometimes with joy brimming over and sometimes with frustration, grief, and disappointment. Your presence reveals your sustained “Yes” to God. You pause in your busy day for some time with Jesus in Adoration, Reconciliation, Mass, and other devotions. You are patient with squirming little ones, diligent in guiding a parent or grandparent to church, and steadfast in extending your hands and heart to those in need.

For Sharing Our Faith

It is gratifying to behold so many of you actively sharing Catholic faith with your children and grandchildren. Whether through parochial school, family faith formation, or mutual presence at Mass, you give witness to what you cherish most.  Your decision to “present” your children to be baptized in the temple that is your parish church is THE most precious gift to your children—the gift of eternal life.  This life is nourished by receiving Jesus regularly in the Eucharist. The ancient church father Origen refers to the Eucharist as a “symbol of gratitude”—and not merely a symbol; he says that after prayer, the bread becomes a “Sacred Body”: the Body of Christ. 

The Eucharist is our act of thanksgiving to God, and animates our gratitude for all God gives us. A Minnesota priest, Father Michael Van Sloun, recalls a congregation that often delights in singing, “Every day is a day of thanksgiving. God’s been so good to me. He’s been blessing me. Every day is a day of thanksgiving. Glorify the Lord today.”

For International and Young Priests

I am also grateful to the international priests who humbly said “Yes” when their bishops asked them to leave their homes, their families, and their cultures to become missionary servants in a land many of them had never seen before. At the core of their being is profound love for God and a desire to share that love with others. There are abundant moments when priests transcend any differences in dialect and offer the loving compassion and hope of the Risen Lord in ways that go beyond words.

Over the years, many dioceses have faced a decline in the number of native-born priests. We are no exception. My predecessors faced a decision to either merge or close parishes or enlist international priests to sustain the regular Sunday celebration of Mass. I have generally opted for the latter, though we will continue to discern how to best meet our people’s spiritual needs going forward.   We look to form and enhance parishes that are vibrant, where people are on fire in their desire to enable others to encounter Jesus in every venue of life. I am told by one of our pastors that over the past five years, more than 1,500 persons of various ages have joined the Catholic Church in their parish. Talk about evangelization!

I am similarly grateful for the special charism of young priests to awaken hope and bring their passion and fresh expressions of faith to open people’s hearts and minds to the Gospel.  They have said “yes” to go wherever the Spirit blows in our Diocese.

Three recently ordained priests are assigned to Council Bluffs, one presently serves Shenandoah and Hamburg, another serves three parishes in Cass County, while others are posted in Perry, Carlisle, and Des Moines. Three recently ordained priests serve in our Catholic high schools, with two of them dedicating this past summer ministering to Catholic Youth Camp participants. The joy, happiness, and good humor they radiated, along with the religious sisters who joined them, sparked record numbers of campers to consider a call to priesthood and religious life, to believe that their own vocational “yes” to Jesus can be an access portal to life fulfillment.

For the Church

The Universal Church is enormously thankful for a missionary Augustinian priest who spent decades serving the poor in Chiclayo, Peru, and then said “Yes” to become the successor of St. Peter this past May. 

Pope Leo XIV is already charting his own course with the release of the apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te” (I Have Loved You), complementing the inspiration of Pope Francis.

In this message, Pope Leo encourages us to magnify our personal “Yes” to God by serving others, particularly the poor. When we spend time with and help our sisters and brothers who struggle to meet their needs for food, shelter, and medical care, our hearts are kindled and we perceive the blessing God supplies us through them.

Our present Holy Father maintains, “Our love and our deepest convictions need to be continually cultivated, and we do so through our concrete actions” (#119). 

How grateful we are for the chance to be good for someone else, especially as winter and the holidays approach!

We venerate Mary, presented in the temple and dedicated to God from her very origins. She always points us to her Son, who gave himself as the ultimate gift in sacrifice.  St. Elizabeth of the Trinity describes “sacrifice” as “love put into action.” 

For God’s part, the sacrifice of the Son allows love to act decisively on our behalf even after death.  For we believe that all but the most stubborn souls are given the opportunity to declare an ultimate “yes” to God that eclipses any “no’s” they might have said on earth. Poor souls can become pure souls capable of singing, celebrating, and glorifying God at the heavenly banquet feast.

All the more reason, then, that every day we declare our gratitude to God, imitating Mary in saying “Yes” to whatever God proposes in the circumstances and graced opportunities presented to us. 

May you, your families, and those whom you have a chance to grace with your charity have a blessed Thanksgiving!