I Really Want to Thank You, God

As Thanksgiving approaches, I again realize how blessed I have been by so many “circumstances.” I have loved the play Godspell, since I first saw it many years ago, and the song “All Good Gifts” has always stayed with me, especially the line “I really want to thank you God.”

First, I was born into, a then called mixed marriage. My Dad was Italian and Irish and my Mom French Canadian. My twin sister and I were the first ones, and then came two brothers and another sister to complete our family. Living with brothers and sisters, and sometimes a relative or two who came for a while, gave me plenty of opportunities to live our charism of unity and reconciliation.

While growing up in Corpus Christi parish in Philadelphia, I watched the sisters coming and going to Mass, to school, and wanted to share the joy and love that showed on their faces and in their interactions with each other and with us. I had poor eyesight so I never thought I would be accepted into the community, but after a year of being a lay teacher, (a pilot program in 1961) at Our Lady of Mercy in Philadelphia and having the supervisors of our community stay in my class for a week, I was able to join the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill.  My sponsor, Sister Marie Judith asked me what I thought it would be like.  I said, “Girl Scouts!” In a way, this was true because in Girl Scouts, we did things as a community, shared the charges, and had a code to live by, just like our Constitutions.  Again, I really want to thank you God, for the preparation scouts gave me.  

The variety of missions in Philadelphia and for 34 years in Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, the diversity of the people I have met, and the opportunities for growth in spirituality have also increased my thankfulness to our loving God. Someone once told me if you have an attitude of gratitude, you will always be happy. I know this is true.

I could go on and on about my blessings, but maybe we should all take time to reflect on the blessings of our lives and say… “I really want to thank you, God.”

Georgette Gavioli SSJ

Sister Georgette has been a Sister of St. Joseph for 53 years.  Most of her ministry experiences have been in the city. In Philadelphia, she served at St. Callistus, St. Stephen, and St. Vincent in Germantown. After that, she spent 11 years at Blessed Sacrament in Newark, New Jersey and is now in her 23^rd year at St. Aloysius, Jersey City. While she loves the shore and the beauty of country, Sister Georgette can't imagine herself anywhere else but in the midst of the city.