The word Eucharist means Thanksgiving. On this day we will once again gather with family and friends and share a hearty meal that has been a staple of the holiday for several hundred years.

Today The Catholic Telegraph would like to Thank You, our readers of one of the nations oldest publication for your support. You continue a tradition that was started in 1831 of reading the news about the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

A Catholic Prayer for this day:

Lord, we thank you
for the goodness of our people
and for the spirit of justice
that fills this nation.
We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the
land and the challenge of the cities.
We thank you for our work and our rest,
for one another, and for our homes.
We thank you, Lord:
accept our thanksgiving on this day.
We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
R: Amen.

Lastly a Did you Know?

As you’re readying a meal, are you excited for the stew with salted pork, garbanzo beans, bread and red wine? Technically the first thanksgiving was held on September 8, 1565. When Pedro Menendez de Aviles lead an expedition that ended in St. Augustine Florida, the fleet chaplain Father Francisco Lopez came ashore first and planted a cross. The Spaniards then shared a communal meal with the Native Americans. Today, a cross is located near that landing that stands 208 feet tall, making it the largest free-standing cross in the Western Hemisphere.

No matter who had the first, we celebrate a day of Thanksgiving as we are a Thanksgiving people.