COMMENTARY: Something to be thankful for

c. 2008 Religion News Service(UNDATED) Thanksgiving might be a little lean this year. The weather’s turning, times are bad, and it seems nothing good is on the horizon. It’s rather like the first Thanksgiving. But, as Pilgrim William Bradford wrote in 1621, Americans will “gather in the small harvest” they have.Fifty-three people showed up for […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service(UNDATED) Thanksgiving might be a little lean this year. The weather’s turning, times are bad, and it seems nothing good is on the horizon. It’s rather like the first Thanksgiving. But, as Pilgrim William Bradford wrote in 1621, Americans will “gather in the small harvest” they have.Fifty-three people showed up for dinner in Plymouth, Mass., that first Thanksgiving Day. The Brewsters, the Hopkins, the Winslows and their children were there, as was Elizabeth Tilley and her wards, Humility Cooper and Henry Samson. The ragtag group of Mayflower survivors celebrated, and thanked God for the harvest.What must it have been like? The weather by Cape Cod Bay is pretty unforgiving, even in October, when the Pilgrims’ feast probably occurred. There were 27 young boys and girls at that Plymouth dinner, and 26 adults. It seems they got enough to eat.That’s not the case around the world today. The United Nations says 80 percent of the people on this planet live on less that $10 a day, and 30,000 little ones die daily because of poverty.You can’t make these numbers up. About 72 million children are not in school, and most of them are girls. There are a billion people who cannot read a book, or sign their names.What can be done? What should be done? How to get more food, more housing, and even more technology for the imperiled people on this planet?It all begins with education. The Jesuits did not invent education, but they certainly are good at it. A huge Jesuit-run program in 16 Latin American countries called “Fe y Alegria” _ Faith and Joy _ networks 2,600 schools and training centers with 1.2 million students. They are so successful that some national governments are collaborating with the Jesuits, hoping to stop the grinding cycle of poverty that entangles so many young people.Here in the U.S., the Jesuits run a network of 21 “Christo Rey” high schools. Children of the urban poor learn their three R’s plus one _ responsibility _ as they work one day a week to help pay the tuition costs. The jobs they get are at the nation’s best employers: the downtown corporations and law firms where success is obvious. NativityMiguel is another U.S. Jesuit network of small middle schools.And this all works. Most youngsters in the Jesuits’ U.S. schools graduate from high school. They end up in college, instead of on the streets. Boys and girls from the Latin American schools become productive members of society.A U.S.-based program called Magis Americas has corralled some high-powered tycoons of industry and world development to help connect money with needy schools. It is a uniquely American way of thinking about the world, rooted in that first Thanksgiving when the Billingtons joined Myles Standish and John Alden around the table. Magis Americas is dedicated to sharing our plenty. Education, after all, is a public responsibility that contributes to the common good.Things are chilly this Thanksgiving in the world financial markets. As in the 17th century, we’re grateful for a bit of warmth, a little shelter. Sure, we once had it better, but we’ll probably have enough. So, no matter whether it’s a soup kitchen or a shelter, a school program here or abroad, in God’s light we will share what we have. As Edward Winslow wrote following that first feast: “And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”(Phyllis Zagano is senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University and author of several books in Catholic Studies.)KRE/AMB END ZAGANO625 wordsA photo of Phyllis Zagano is available via https://religionnews.com

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!