Monday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Sister Beth strikes again:

Brother Curtis Almquist, SSJE, led a Lenten retreat at the Cathedral College a few years ago. One nugget from his meditations was to accept each day as a gift, not presume it as a given. Wow! Imagine: every day wrapped up in exquisite papers with bows …. the excitement of the unknown … the wonder of a simple present we didn’t even think to ask for or one grander than we could even imagine … the hope that a time-worn prayer will be answered. Some days, by definition, burst with expectation: Christmas, Easter, Opening Day, and Grand Slam finals (not necessarily in that order). Others distract us with monotony or dread: Monday, spelling test, April 15th, and for many of us, Lent.

Often we are disappointed by unfulfilled hopes or surprised by unexpected fruits of our work or just showing up.As this day unfolds, will we accept God’s gifts with gratitude and grace, or grumble “___________ [go ahead, fill in the blank!] again” and yearn for something else? Will we look deeper and seek the gift hiding in the ordinary? Will we tend fledgling treasures and give them away in due course?

God, giver of all good gifts, we pray for the grace to recognize this day as Your gift, to receive and acknowledge as ours to nurture and share to in the spirit of Your generosity. Amen.

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.