Lent and Gratitude

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I never feel like I do a good job at being grateful.  I work with volunteers and I am always wondering if I adequately express my deep gratitude for each of them.  I have started a new practice this Lent.  I want to stop and make sure my thanks is not rushed or stuck in at the end of a task or an event.  I want to look the person I am thanking in the eye, sit with her or him, and take time to relate the importance of their presence and actions. 

And, most importantly, I want my gratitude to come from a deep well within that knows God’s Providence.  The Dominicans of Sinsinawa have a saying:  “Providence can provide, Providence did provide, and Providence will provide.”  Gratefulness is expressed wholeheartedly when one believes that God is the source of every need.  Trust, openness, mercy, hope, joy – these are the characteristics of a grateful heart.  So, this Lent I am cultivating the practice of gratitude as a way of life.   
  
And you, how do you say, “thank you?”

Peggy Ryan, OP
Waukegan, IL

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