The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Thankful for My Almighty Father

Episode Date: November 26, 2021

How has God blessed you this year? In today's brief Thanksgiving episode, Jeff invites us to reflect on the greatness and generosity of God the Father and encourages us to live in constant thanksgiving for all the ways he provides for us. Snippet from the Show "God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our need."- CCC 270 Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, episode 247, thankful for my almighty father. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven show. And a very, very, very happy thanks. giving to you this year on behalf of my wife and myself. Actually, on behalf of all of Ascension as

well. And this has been an incredible year. And I just want to take a few minutes today because I know you are busy this weekend with all of the travel and your family and so forth. And I just want to interject a little thankfulness, particularly about God being our almighty father. You know, there's so many things to be thankful for this year. When you look over the the last couple of years, a lot of people would say that there's really not that much to be thankful for with the whole COVID pandemic, but in the midst of it, there really is a lot of wonderful things to be thankful for to the Lord. And while this is a national holiday, and Canada has their day, this is our national holiday. It really is something that we are to live in every single day.

You and I are called to live in Thanksgiving. In fact, the very heart of our faith as Christians is the Eucharist. It's the mass. And the Eucharist literally means thanksgiving. We are people that are thankful. And we're thankful for so, so many things. We can depend upon our Heavenly Father because he is not relevant in the sense that whatever people want to call him. He is consistent. He is faithful. He is the same. yesterday, today, and forever. And there was actually a heresy in the Middle Ages called nominalism. And nominalism really declared that there are no universals. And with no universals, then who is God? And what is love? And what is beauty? And how do we define marriage? And it goes on

and on. It was a disaster. But thank God, the church has continued to teach all these years that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I want to share a couple things from the catechism with you as we celebrate this Thanksgiving. And I'm reading from paragraph 269. I absolutely love this. It says that the Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the Mighty One of Jacob, the Lord of hosts, the strong and mighty one. If God is almighty in heaven and on earth, it is because he made them.

Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will. He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he establish, and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing hearts, and events in keeping with his will. It is always in your power to show great strength and who can withstand the strength of your arm. Beautiful, beautiful quote from wisdom. And isn't that true? It is a beautiful thought today as we celebrate Thanksgiving to know that God is the mighty one.

It goes on and says that God is the mighty Father. And I love that. Paragraph 270, God is Father Almighty. and that might be something that we can repeat over and over during this Thanksgiving that our God is Father Almighty. He is both Father and He is Almighty. It goes on and says God is the Father Almighty whose Fatherhood and power shed light on one another. God reveals His fatherly omnipotence. How? By the way, he takes care of our needs. Isn't that beautiful? Has God been taking care of your needs this year? Is he taking care of your needs today? That's his fatherly

personality. He is not like a father. The church teaches us that he is father. And so he takes care of our needs by the filial adoption that he gives us. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for that. I'm thankful for that today. It seems so simple and so to the center of our faith, but something that very often we don't just sit back and give thanks to the fact that he is my father and I am his son and you are his daughter. Finally, by his infinite mercy, he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins. That is really amazing. When we call God Father Almighty, when we speak of Father, it relates to us being adopted. And we have been raised up to the level of adopted sons and

daughters. And when we speak of God as being almighty, the church teaches us that that speaks of his infinite mercy. And he displays his power. How? By forgiving sins. You know, a lot of times we don't think about forgiving sins as being related to Almighty. Almighty seems to be related to conquering or avoiding suffering even, but yet it was in the midst of suffering that God revealed his almighty power to forgive sin. That is amazing. And that's why I think John Paul II said that it is precisely in weakness that the power of God gushes forth, the grace of God, the power of God, it gushes forth in the midst of weakness. And so that is actually the almighty power of God. God's almighty power is in no way arbitrary. That's what St. Thomas said. In God, power, essence,

will intellect. Wisdom and justice are all identical. Nothing, therefore, can be in God's power, which could not be in his just will or his wise intellect. That is so beautiful. I've been reading the catechism during this Thanksgiving season because I am so thankful. And I love what the church teaches us about the implications of faith in this Almighty Father that we know and we love and we follow and we obey. There are implications of faith in this beautiful, beautiful creator. Believing in God, the only God, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life. the church teaches us. It means coming to know God's greatness and majesty. During this Thanksgiving period, take a moment to just focus on his greatness and his majesty. It's incredible. St. Joan of

Arks said, behold, God is great, and we know him not. Therefore, we must serve God first. So as the catechism tells us in paragraphs 222 all the way to 227, it tells us first that believing in God, the only God, and loving Him, it has consequences, it has enormous consequences. It means coming to know God's greatness and majesty, but it also means living in Thanksgiving, living in Thanksgiving, not just celebrating Thanksgiving, but living in Thanksgiving. if God is the only one, everything we are, and have comes from him. What have you that you did not receive? What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me? And the implications of

faith in one God also has consequences in that it means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men. Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God. Pretty good start. huh for Thanksgiving. Church is so rich in teaching. It also means making good use of created things. To know that there are consequences and implications of faith in God means making good use of created things. Faith in God. The only one leads us to use everything that is not God, only insofar as it brings us closer to him, and to detach ourselves from it insofar as it turns us away from him. And finally, enormous consequences in having this faith in one God, it means trusting God in every single circumstance, even in adversity.

A prayer of St. Torres wonderfully expresses this trust. I quote, let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. Everything passes. God never changes. Patience obtains all. Whoever has God wants for nothing. God alone is enough. Just some thoughts this Thanksgiving. God is enough. He is Father Almighty. He changes not. And this has serious consequences. If we believe this, it should change our lives. And so as the church teaches us, don't just say, celebrate Thanksgiving, live in Thanksgiving. On behalf of everyone at Ascension, my wife and family, I want to say thank you this year for being a part of this podcast and Bible in a year with Father Mike and myself

and all of the studies that we've been putting out in your participation in them. Thank you. You are my brother. You are my sister. we both are sons and daughters of the Father Almighty. God bless you. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.