St. Gertrude of Nivelles was born in what’s now Belgium in 626 and died on March 17, 659. It’s said when Gertrude was young, 
she became extremely angry when King Dagobert attempted to arrange a marriage for her with a duke’s son. Gertrude rejected the proposed match, saying that her spouse was Christ the Lord.
Later, after her father died, Gertrude’s mother, Itta, built a Benedictine double monastery. Both women entered it, and Gertrude became abbess. The last three years of her life, Gertrude reduced her official duties to spend more time on penance and studying Scripture.
St. Gertrude said: “It is a fearful mistake to believe that because our wishes are not accomplished that they can do no harm.”
There are birthday wishes, and then there are the kind of wishes St. Gertrude is referring to, for example, the ones that can sour our lives by wishing the past had been different or that we could have the physical trappings and relationships we think we “deserve.” Try putting aside that type of destructive wish today, and offer up prayers of thanks for what you have instead.
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