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Thanksgiving is next week and we are about to enter into a season filled with family, friends, and traditions. While it may not be specifically Catholic to the culture, it is inherently Catholic in meaning. Thanksgiving in Greek is Eucharistia, Eucharist, the most precious gift of the Body and Blood of Christ which is the Thanksgiving sacrifice and meal. This means that the Mass is the greatest prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving that we can offer to God, our truest and most fitting response to His great sacrifice. Gratitude is therefore a core, and in my opinion undervalued virtue, of our faith and is at the center of our journey to sainthood. Look to Eucharistic Prayer II, “It is truly right and just, our duty and salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father most holy, through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, your word through whom you made all things, whom you sent as our Savior and Redeemer, incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a holy people, he stretched out his hands as he endured his Passion, so as to break the bonds of death and manifest the resurrection.” It is our response to God for the many natural or material blessings that he has granted us but more than that it is our expression of thankfulness for the greatest gift, which is our salvation. In a real way I have tried to consider the question, how do I thank someone for dying for me? What could I possibly do that would be a sincere and proportional response to that? The saints have been my help in answering that question, and the response is to live a life loving and honoring in God in all that I do. Letting my actions be a true and authentic expression of my love for Him even in the midst of my fallen nature and through all of my daily experiences. On Thanksgiving, we do this together as a community with a Eucharistic focus, to be a people of gratitude for all that we have and really recognizing all that we may be taking for granted. Last Thanksgiving, I was immersed in getting married, but I am looking forward to combining some of our shared traditions! Here are a few ways that you can build your Catholic Thanksgiving Traditions. 1. The best way to make your Thanksgiving centered on Christ, the Eucharist, and community is to go to mass as a family! 2. My family was always very good about saying a prayer of thanksgiving together as a whole group, we did this in conjunction with blessing our food. 3. Stay at the table together, my husband’s family is so great at this, they take their time to enjoy each other! Don’t rush through the meal, talk, eat, play games at the table and take advantage of the time you have. 4. Go around the table and express words or stories of gratitude. How many "jokes" do we hear about the family feuds of the holiday season? Be bold, create an environment where we can share our blessings with each other and let your loved ones hear how you appreciate them, this can be a great way to nurture those relationships. Indulge in some quotes on gratitude! 1. "When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude." -G.K. Chesterton 2. "In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and in all things give Him thanks." -St. Teresa of Avila 3. "To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything." -Thomas Merton 4. "Jesus does not demand great action from us but simply surrender and gratitude." -St. Therese of Lisieux 5. "The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems with joy." St. Teresa of Calcutta

This last Sunday was the beginning of Advent as I am sure most of you know by now with the change in liturgical colors, Advent wreaths, and social media posts. I could not wait, in fact I had been looking forward to this since October with the busyness of finally launching His Girl Sunday I just needed the calm and focus that this time brings. So I get to Mass, completely in the zone, ready to focus on preparing for Baby Jesus and the Gospel scared me to pieces! "Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, one will be left." (MT 24:40-41) The first thing that came to mind was that brilliant cinematic experience of a movie "Left Behind" (2014) starring Nicholas Cage. When I snapped out of that horrible memory I was brought back to the unexpected Gospel and I realized the irony. Wow, okay Lord, I get it, my life is just like the message from the first Sunday of Advent, always getting lost in the chaos, appointments, work, and obligations. While those things are inevitable I had just been caught spiritually napping! Of course I pray daily, fulfill my Catholic obligations, bring tradition into our home, teach Theology, etc. but that isn't what this Gospel is referring to. It's easy for me to be aware of Christ in those moments that are clearly and intentionally dedicated to Him, but what about the rest of my life and the many things that happen in any given day when I am completely immersed in things of this world or my own life? So I am clinging to these two words this Advent and hopefully creating a self awareness for the time thereafter... Stay awake in the hope of waiting, not just for the great mystery of the incarnation which we fix our attention on, but for the parousia! If that doesn't frighten you then I don't know what does, but I'll say this, nothing focuses my attention or motivates me more to get myself together than this message. Stop messing around, for lack of better words, my personality needs a kick in the pants sometimes! This isn't just a season of pumpkin spice lattes and Christmas movies, glad you can't see what's sitting on my desk, but a time to rededicate myself to an intimate relationship with the Savior. Since Advent begins the new liturgical year I have taken myself to prayer many times to decide on Catholic new years resolutions, a virtue or two which I make a point to think about in daily self reflection and one prayer habit that my soul an sanity needs. For a couple of years now I have tried to do this every quarter and I have found it to be very helpful in my journey. How very counter intuitive to our popular culture to have a season of peace, silence, and reflection and yet how much more joyous the season of Christmas because of it. Much like the waiting in this life for the joyous Christmas that will be Heaven. We are Advent people, longing in expectation and hoping for Jesus Christ's second coming.

Welcome to His Girl Sunday! My name is Steffani Aquila. I am a theology teaching, ballet dancing, Lucille Ball loving, old moving watching, small town girl in the big city livin’, bread making, event planner+blogger! This is a small business/ blog that I have created for the Catholic that wants an event planner or coordinator that knows and shares in all the richness of our faith. His Girl Sunday is a event planning and liturgical living service that wants to be a part of all life’s seasons by helping you to establish beauty, organization, and joy in Catholic weddings, liturgies, feast day celebrations, & sacramental parties. With my combined experience of event planning and my appreciation for tradition I have been able to help families, parishes, & couples to bring our faith into their celebrations, homes, and every day lives. Here you will find faith filled tips, insights, and creative resources for bringing the liturgical seasons into your “little church”. Through engagement and newlywed life I have found so much joy and strength by connecting our marriage to the Church through the Sacraments and Liturgical Living, and I hope to bring new tradition ideas to you and yours. Stay tuned for more blog posts! Your Girl Sunday, Steffani Aquila