Learn from "Mr. Thanksgiving"...Enlarge Your Christmas List

In Moline, Illinois, Bob Vogelbaugh is called "Mr. Thanksgiving."

That's because for 33 years, Vogelbaugh has sponsored a free Thanksgiving meal for people with nowhere else to go, the Chicago Tribune reported last week.

The tradition started when Vogelbaugh began inviting people he knew to join him for Thanksgiving, the newspaper reported. The guest list has grown since then. In recent years, according to the newspaper, he has hosted more than 2,000 at the meals. In the meantime, the meal's location has moved from his home to a local mall food court.

Mr. Thanksgiving's meals provide a challenge for Catholics as Advent begins. Christmas advertising and celebrations often focus on celebrating with friends and family.

The Christian message, however, turns that upside down. For example, people saw shepherds in Jesus' time the way many see homeless people today. Dirty. Good for nothing. Yet they were the first people who God invited to the manger.

During Advent, God calls us to remember that manger scene by inviting people who are rejected, lonely or oppressed into our lives at a deeper level - in a way that will change us and move us to change the society that often rejects them. Our "celebrations" can include more volunteering, more time studying and praying about issues like poverty, more time with people who hurt. That way Christ will come again - in our hearts and into the lives of those with whom we "celebrate" the season.

Click here for the full story about "Mr. Thanksgiving". [Registration Required]

Catholic Connections

Then Jesus said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." - Luke 14:12-14

Reflection Questions

How can I "celebrate" the holiday season with people who suffer in our world?

Join us in our Forum to discuss these questions!