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November 25, 2025

My Dear Friends in Christ,  

As we enter upon this season of thankfulness and gratitude, our hearts and minds turn to the many blessings God has placed in our lives.         

Many families and friends will gather for joyful celebrations over bountiful meals, surrounded by the love of their dear ones and the many gifts given to us by our Father in Heaven. We are thankful for all of our gifts, but Thanksgiving does not end with words and gestures. We have all heard the question, likely when we were younger, “But how do you show your thankfulness?”  

 As our Holy Father Pope Leo most recently reminded us, Jesus identified with the poor and the marginalized. Christ taught that whatever we do for those in need, we are doing for him. He also spoke of the many faces of poverty: the abject poverty of those lacking life’s necessities; the poverty of the immigrant; the poverty of the outcast; the spiritual poverty of those who have enough material possessions but who lack the things of the spirit. These and other forms of poverty are all around us. 

This Thanksgiving Season, we can show our thankfulness by recognizing the face of Jesus in those who are in need. We can show our gratitude by reaching out to those in need and helping them in very real and concrete ways. Pope Leo has shared that love for the poor and impoverished means respecting their dignity and individuality. They are persons made in God’s image. They are precious in God’s eyes. They are worthy of our help and our support and doing so in ways that really address their needs.

As St. Teresa of Ávila proclaimed, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.” How can you, how can I, find ways, just as the Gospel asks, to feed and clothe your brothers and sisters in Christ – and to welcome the strangers in your midst.  

Our Thanksgiving becomes holy and happy when it becomes generous. It is in giving that we truly receive. It is in giving that we truly express our gratitude and thankfulness to the Lord. We are one family, today and always. I wish you God’s peace, and I pray for you.  I pray for your family and your loved ones.

Have a truly blessed Thanksgiving! 

Faithfully in Christ,

Most Reverend William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore

Archbishop William E. Lori

Archbishop William E. Lori was installed as the 16th Archbishop of Baltimore May 16, 2012.

Prior to his appointment to Baltimore, Archbishop Lori served as Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., from 2001 to 2012 and as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1995 to 2001.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Archbishop Lori holds a bachelor's degree from the Seminary of St. Pius X in Erlanger, Ky., a master's degree from Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg and a doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington in 1977.

In addition to his responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archbishop Lori serves as Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus and is the former chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.

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