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November 24, 2014

Dear Friends,

May this Thanksgiving Day be a time of reflection and joy for you. Each
year for centuries we, Americans, have found time publicly to thank God for
all that we have received. God’s grace is so abundant that we need to stop
long enough to express our appreciation. This day has become a sort of
civil holyday when families gather oftentimes first in Church and then at
the dinner table.

This year has been one rich in spiritual benefits and I want to share some
observations about them as I thank you for your part in helping to make so
many good things happen in our archdiocesan Church.

In this year, 2014, we commemorate our [1]75th anniversary as the
Archdiocese of Washington. In his recent apostolic exhortation, [2]The Joy
of the Gospel, Pope Francis invited all Christians “to a renewed personal
encounter with Jesus Christ.” That personal encounter with Jesus and our
own efforts to manifest his kingdom are the very heart of the story of our
archdiocese since in 1939 when Pope Pius XII established it. Then it was
comprised solely of the District of Columbia, but was expanded in 1947 to
include the surrounding Maryland counties. Thus it came to be that it is
the Archdiocese of Washington, whose anniversary we celebrate, that traces
its roots to the [3]Catholic settlers who landed in Southern Maryland in
1634.

The manifestation of God’s kingdom here among all of us was highlighted
this year with our first [4]Archdiocesan Synod. Under canon law an
archdiocesan synod is formally defined as “a group of selected priests and
other members of the Christian faithful of a particular church who offer
assistance there to the diocesan bishop for the good of the whole diocesan
community” (Canon 460).

This effort we undertook in meetings over two years sorting through some
15,000 recommendations. The outcomes of this Synod are both tangible and
spiritual. Among the spiritual results we must include the many graces and
blessings bestowed by God on all those who participated in the entire
process. The tangible outcomes, each one in keeping with the original
goals set forth at the outset of the Synod, include affirmations of the
truth of the Catholic faith and morals, directives for future pastoral
programs, the statutes and archdiocesan policy index promulgated at the
[5]closing Mass and, we hope, a spirit of renewed evangelization.

As we look to even more reason to thank God, we can turn to the 2014
anniversary edition of [6]Catholic Impact. This publication tells the
amazing story of the good works of the Catholic community in areas as
diverse as healthcare, education, Catholic charities, low cost housing, and
so many more – all possible because of you and so many others.

This Thanksgiving I want to say first to God and then to you “thank you!”

Faithfully in Christ,

Donald Cardinal Wuerl

Archbishop of Washington

[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]Archdiocese of Washington
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References

1. http://youtu.be/V48P3EjHct0
2. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
3. http://youtu.be/8mZldZ0Wi3w
4. http://www.adw.org/synod/
5. http://youtu.be/63kNdMjRuUU
6. http://www.adw.org/catholicimpact/
7. https://www.facebook.com/adw.org
8. https://twitter.com/washarchdiocese
9. http://www.youtube.com/washarchdiocese
10. http://instagram.com/WashArchdiocese
11. http://www.pinterest.com/washarchdiocese/
12. https://plus.google.com/u/1/102163985263136608530/posts
13. http://www.adw.org/inspiration/
14. http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/
15. https://www.facebook.com/catholicstandard
16. https://www.facebook.com/ElPregoneroDC
17. http://www.adw.org/
18. http://www.cathstan.org/
19. http://www.elpreg.org/
20. http://site.adw.org/
This message was sent by: Cardinal Wuerl, Thanksgivingletter@adw.org, Archdiocese of Washington Office of Digital Media, P.O. Box 29260

301-853-4500, Washington, DC 20017-0260

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