Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; for it becometh well the just to be thankful. - Ps XXXIII

What would Thanksgiving Day be without a Norman Rockwell illustration? Impoverished. A sham. That's what.

Right this very moment -- as we speak -- the house is filled with the smell of roasting turkey. I await the call at any moment to proceed with the giblet gravy, my own contribution to the table. That, and choosing an appropriate long grace, which is the point of the exercise after all: every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

I haven't found a grace that mentions mince pie, and since we were actually able to find one this year. . . . .well, maybe not. Probably something that doesn't mention mince pie from the prayer book will have to do. There are wonderful long graces in the back of the old Roman Breviary intended for religious communities. But I don't think Herself will put up with me going on for an entire psalm.

Now, I know what you're thinking: what do I mean "find one". Why don't I bake my own mince pie. It's very sad, but neither one of us are very successful with pies of any kind. I don't know where Herself got her lack of talent, but I inherited mine from my grandmother, who, family rumour says, sold her pie crust recipe to the government for use as armor-plating for Sherman tanks.

If you still need a thanksgiving prayer, try this one:

Most gracious God, by whose knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew; We yield thee unfeigned thanks and praise for the return of seed-time and harvest, for the increase of the ground and the gathering in of the fruits thereof, and for all the other blessings of thy merciful providence bestowed upon this nation and people. And, we beseech thee, give us a just sense of thy great mercies; such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all glory and honour, world without end. Amen.