Celebrating Thanksgiving and the Solemnity of Christ the King brings together the reality that we are grateful to God for His mercy. As Abraham Lincoln invoked God’s providence and mercy, we realize that Christ is our King precisely because He is our Redeemer. God created us out of love, but He redeemed us out of mercy. It is His mercy which shows us the abundance of His love and how much He wants us to enter into a real relationship with Him. Despite our sin and rejection of God, God did not reject us. He sent His Son into the world, who gave His life upon the cross in order that we might have life.

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It is important to realize that giving thanks and praise of God go hand in hand. This is very obvious in the narratives of the words of institution in the Eucharistic prayers that are said at Mass. As the priest prepares to speak the words of Consecration, he first narrates how Jesus “gave thanks and praise” when He took the bread and wine at the Last Supper.