Dear Families of the York Catholic District School Board,
We wish you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. During the next few days, we hope you will get an opportunity to relax and spend some quality time with your loved ones.
Thanksgiving is a time for family traditions such as taking a family photo, serving a particular dish at dinner and, of course, attending Mass together as an extended family.
As Catholics, we always take the opportunity to thank the Lord prior to sharing a meal. In your homes, many of you will be using prayers that have been passed down from generation to generation reflective of the cultural diversity that is one of our Board’s strengths. In our schools, our children learn to recite one of the most beautiful and well known prayers in the Catholic tradition, “Grace Before Meals.” It is a simple prayer that is full of deep wisdom.
Bless us, O Lord,
and these, Thy gifts,
which we are about to receive,
from Thy bounty,
through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
This prayer is a call to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. Certainly, some of us have more than others. And some of us would surely welcome an offer of help from our neighbours. At York Catholic our schools have been busy collecting food for local food banks as well as supporting other initiatives to help those in our community that are struggling.
At the York Catholic District School Board we are grateful for our students, who arrive at school ready to try their best. We are grateful for all our staff who share their God-given talents to help shape another generation of faithful, engaged citizens. And we are grateful for our families, who readily give of themselves for the betterment of our school communities.
We are especially thankful for this school year, which has been our most normal return to the classroom during the past years of pandemic.
This Thanksgiving, we hope everyone in the York Catholic community will have an opportunity to say a prayer with their loved ones, as we thank God for all we have been given.
Yours in Christ,
York Catholic District School Board