Thanksgiving at Emmaus

Happy Thanksgiving from the Emmaus Immersion pilgrims! We were so blessed to be able to find a turkey and cranberries in Israel, and to celebrate this American holiday abroad with so many non-American friends. We put a lot of work into making an authentic Thanksgiving meal, cooking turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, and of course pumpkin pie.

We prepared a skit to introduce the members of the house to the roots of this feast, incorporating elements of the story of Emmaus into the narrative ("Were not our stomachs growling within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the recipes to us...").

We also shared with them Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Address (in French!) in order to enter together into the spirit of gratitude and joy. And we began our celebration as we begin most of our celebrations: with mass, this time complete with hymns, readings, and psalms about giving thanks and glory to our Creator, to whom all thanks is due.

We hope you all are having a blessed holiday, and, to our families, please rest assured that we are praying for you and missing you (and your cooking) on this day. Thank you for reading, and God bless!