The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, gave the following advice to the nation on Oct. 3, 1863, during the Civil War:

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown . . . as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied, enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined . . . that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and persevering grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”

Lincoln declared that, from that time forward, we would celebrate the fourth Thursday in November as a national holiday, to pause and remember God’s benevolent hand in our lives.

Many people travel great distances and make tremendous sacrifices to be at home with family on Thanksgiving Day. For eight years, I shared a Thanksgiving meal with my mother, who lived at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home on Benton Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. It was inspiring to see the bevy of volunteers from all walks of life, religions and ages assisting the vulnerable elderly who lived there. But since Mom died in 2013, this year Thanksgiving will take a different turn.

I will awake at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving morning and drive 430 miles to Greensboro, North Carolina, where my youngest brother and his wife will host the Jones celebration. I thank God for my family, for knowing and growing with them. The love of a family is strength through the ups and downs for the journey.

There is a Yiddish proverb that says, “If you cannot be grateful for what you have received, then be thankful for what you have been spared.” One tradition held by my mother was to ask each person seated at the table to name one thing that they were grateful for that year. My family has since safeguarded and upheld that tradition. In that same spirit, I offer a list of things that we can all be grateful for this year:

I’m thankful for Pope Francis, who continues to inspire believers everywhere to holiness, humility and humor as we witness to the love of God in this world.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American farmers are forecasting the highest production of corn on record: 14.5 billion bushels; 22 states are expecting a record year.

Those who provide for the less fortunate, forgotten and neglected.

The latest technological advances that allow families to instantly communicate.

Our nation is blessed with peace and freedom, which allows us to worship and praise God.

Faith, family and friends, with whom we share a Thanksgiving meal.

For those who have gone before us, whose spirit, legacy and faith inspire us to greater measures of generosity.

It is true that we can accomplish more together than alone. Any charity and good will given to a particular individual will only find its full development when it flourishes in a community setting.

We are happiest when we are using the gifts God gave us. Not only does everything come from the Lord, it ultimately returns to the Lord. Whether your gift is in leading, teaching, organizing, healing, listening, creativity or technology, we must remember that a gift is not a gift until it’s freely given away.

Recently, following a Mass, a man said, “Father, I have a favor to ask of you. Mom’s health has recently declined and, as she loses her independence, she is no longer capable of driving. My brothers and I all live out of state. The three most important things in her life are going to church, going to the grocery store and going to the doctor. Do you know of anyone who might be able to take her church?”

So I asked a parishioner if he could fulfill the man’s simple request. The parishioner obliged, and now, several weeks later, the two have become great friends, even going to weekly breakfast following Mass.

Let us be grateful for the surprises in 2014; the big things, the little things and everything in between. Give thanks daily for your blessings!

The Rev. Richard Jones, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Coraopolis, wrote this piece for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.