It's fortuitous that this post is going up today (it was originally planned for a different date). In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Occurring exactly nine months before Christmas (not that I'm providing a countdown today!), this observance marks the announcement of Jesus birth and Mary accepting God's call to be the mother of the Savior.

Mary is a wonderful model of humility. Facing an amazing and daunting call, her first response isn't to ask what's in it for her or to enumerate the difficulties, it's to wonder how she could be so fortunate. Gratitude and humility underlie that response.

Neither gratitude nor humility are highly valued in contemporary cultures that consider good things to be the just desserts for our accomplishments. We get things because we deserve them, because we've worked hard. And if you don't get things? Well, maybe you haven't worked hard enough or you've failed in other ways.

Humility and gratitude are sisters that help us to recognize and accept our own limitations and those of others and to embrace all the good things of life as gifts. They allow us to take action without concern for accolades and credit. They let us identify with those who are vulnerable and in need.

This Lent, make room for these sisters at the table of your life.