Gratitude

Feb. 14, 2008

A few things for which I'm grateful:

My sister's clear bill of health following cancer treatment
Finding a good parish in a new city
A comfortable home
Chocolates on Valentines Day
Valentine messages written in invisible ink by my 7-year-old son
Happy children
A friendly small town
Electric power restored after a windstorm
A husband who is my best friend
Fasting during Lent

I must remember to make gratitude lists during Lent and after. Otherwise, I get caught up in what is not right with my life - when there are so many things are ARE right. And then I just want to run away and not deal with life on life's terms.
It's kind of like this hilarious new game my kids have -- Knights of the Rectangular Table. (We don't have any round tables, but they still have that cardboard box from Nutrisystem).
They also have cardboard swords and shields which bear the motto: We Will Win or Flee!
Mostly they just chase each other around and pretend bad guys are after them. But, really, to win or flee. As tempting as that is for me, that is not the way life works. And, at 40, I should know better. But I still indulge escapist fantasies when the going gets rough. And the going has been rough here lately in a situation that affects my family. Fleeing is not an option. Praying is the only option. So I am praying a novena to the Holy Spirit - something I wish I had done years ago. It is a beautiful prayer. Here is the link: http://www.theworkofgod.org/Library/Trinity/holy_spirit_novena.htm.

And, here is the Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your Love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples, and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.