Rejoice!

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it."

That line from Psalm 118 is so much a part of Easter. We hear, pray and sing those words again and again.

They remind me of a former St. Columbkille pastor, Father Steven Stillmunks, now pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine Church. He began every Mass thanking God for the "beautiful day." Every day was beautiful to him, even if a storm was raging outside.

 Father Stillmunks was wise, knowing each day should be treasured as a gift from God.

I gained a new appreciation for our gift of days when I turned 40. I would have dead by then, a doctor told me, if I hadn't had a life-saving operation at age 21.

I was born with a hole in my heart, but it wasn't discovered until I was in college, when a different doctor detected a heart murmur. I went in for tests over spring break and had surgery scheduled that summer to repair the half-dollar-size hole.

After the surgery, I asked the surgeon: What would have happened if I never had the surgery? He said I would have started having health problems by age 30 or when I started having kids. And I would be dead by age 40, he said.

I just celebrated a birthday (13 years past my 40th) during the Easter Octave. And I might have been tempted to be sad about growing older. But Psalm 118 reminds me that I can't take any day for granted. Each day is His gift, a new opportunity -- not to be squandered, but to be celebrated and lived to the fullest.

So here I am, rejoicing at being another year older, and the mother of nine and grandmother of one.

I know I am blessed with the gift of each passing day. Today -- and every day -- is just another reason to sing.



Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.