I n this month and season of thanksgiving we not only want to thank God for all those in our lives who have died, but also for the many people still alive whom God has placed in our path. It’s often easier to feel grateful for gifts or events that bring us joy in the moment, but this week, let’s try to focus on the people who, in quiet or profound ways, have shaped us and helped us grow.

God doesn’t want us to travel life’s journey alone. Each person we encounter and who accompany us (and we, them) leaves a mark on us, whether we realize it or not. Sometimes, we only see the influence of others in hindsight, when we look back and recognize the moments that drew us closer to God or they challenged us in a way that shaped our character. Whether they’ve lifted us up in difficult times, challenged us to be better, or simply were there to share in our joys and sorrows, they’re all part of God’s work in our lives.

Gratitude invites us to see beyond ourselves and recognize how interconnected we truly are. When we thank God for the people around us— family, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors, fellow students, or co-workers— we’re also acknowledging his hand in our lives working through them. We’re recognizing that he uses others to help us grow, to inspire us, encourage us, and sometimes even to correct us. Perhaps there are people in our lives we’ve taken for granted, or relationships that we haven’t nourished enough. This week, let’s renew our commitment to gratitude by reaching out to them. A simple “thank you” can have a profound impact. Such gratitude itself will make the world better, as Pope Francis has said: “If we are bearers of gratitude, the world itself will become better, even if only a little bit, but that is enough to transmit a bit of hope” (General Audience, Dec. 30, 2020).

To whom should we show our gratitude? Certainly to our parents, siblings, and other relatives, but Pope Francis also suggest others:

“During our lives, more than one person has gazed on us with pure eyes, gratuitously. Often, these people are educators, catechists, persons who carried out their roles above and beyond what was required of them. And they provoked us to be grateful. Even friendship is a gift for which we should always be grateful” (ibid.).

Let’s thank God for the priests and religious who impacted our lives. I thank God for Fr. Hilary and what he has done so much for St. Mary of the Angels and for individuals in the confessional. He has also guided me over the years as pastor. I also thank God for Sr. Jean Marie who planted the seed of vocation in me in the third grade.

St. Josemaría—my spiritual father to whom I am forever grateful—would also encourage us to thank God, even for the “bad” things that happen to us, which help sculp us into an image of Jesus Christ:

Ut in gratiarum semper actione maneamus – Thank you, my God… for the pain, obstacles, and misunderstandings… These blows are really caresses that chip away at the marble slab, sculpting your Son’s image in my soul. Thank you! (Via Crucis, Station 6, med. 4).

That means we should also be grateful to God for the people through whom those blows came our way. This truly recognizes God in our lives, getting the focus off ourselves, and off the thing or person that hurts us, and back onto the one who graces us.

As we grow in gratitude, we open ourselves more fully to God’s mercy, love, and grace. Let us allow this gratitude to forgive others and to deepen our love for them, strengthening our bonds and reminding us that we are all, ultimately, one family.

May every November be a month of remembering, of praying, and of giving thanks—a thanksgiving that extends into eternity.