Be Thou a Blessing

Every one of us, willing or not, will eventually -- before our death -- become on this earth either a blessing or a curse.  C.S. Lewis points out that each time we choose, the central part of us, the part that chooses, is turned toward the good or toward the evil.  Finally, we become what we constantly choose -- and some lose themselves entirely in the process.  The woman who grumbles continuously finally loses herself, her own soul, and becomes in the end only a grumble, for example.  We look around and see those who have become greed, or lust, or gambling addiction -- and we can no longer find the child they once were; the soul has been lost.

When God called Abraham out of the land of Ur, the land of idols, He said: I will bless you, and you be a blessing.  Everyone who has been touched by God is called to be a blessing to others.  But all we have to give is what we have received from the hands of God.  If we try to give out of our own resources, the well quickly runs dry -- but the spring of living water (the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ) is inexhaustible.  Mother Teresa hit the streets of Calcutta only with a call from God.  She had no resources at all, other than God -- and He was more than enough.

Francis of Assisi extolled the blessings of "Lady Poverty," knowing that all the wealth offered by his earthly father was less than dirt compared to the wealth offered by God.  And Francis' love of poverty absolutely re-built the church of his day, which had been seduced by the wealth and power of the world.

Every one of us desires to be a blessing to others, I would imagine.  Not that we want to be praised and recognized, but rather that we want to have something with which to fill the hunger and thirst and desperate need of those around us.  I see those coming each week to the St. Vincent DePaul Society, those who have lost jobs, those who are sick and who cannot afford medicine, those even who come without a coat in freezing weather.  And I want to be Santa Clause or Donald Trump, handing out to each one what they most need.  I hear people crying out for love and fellowship, for direction and wisdom; I hear young girls who are pregnant and don't know what to do -- and I want to give them warmth, safety, and assurance that their needs will be met.  I think of those imprisoned and being tortured, starved, beaten, exposed to the cold -- and I want to set free the prisoners, feed the hungry, and tend to the wounds. 

What gives me hope in the sight of my own helplessness is knowing that God Himself hears the cry of the poor, that He has given to the church prophets, teachers, administrators, healers, givers -- those who bind up the wounds of the sick, those who shelter the poor, care for orphans and widows, and go to those in prison.  I read a Franciscan magazine which brings me the news of those who minister daily to those I myself cannot reach -- and I know the church, those who live the spirit of Jesus Christ, is still alive and well, is still a blessing on the earth.

Two days ago, I had the privilege of speaking at length with a young family who are Catholic missionaries, ministering in the poorest areas of Mexico.  Their 5 children, the oldest of which is 9, are beautiful, happy, well-cared for and loved.  And they too are learning to give, young as they are.  I looked into the eyes of the 9-year old and found God.  "You have beautiful eyes," I told him.  "They are the same as yours," he said back to me.  I was startled by such a reply from one so young.  The love these children have for their parents and for one another is so obvious that it spills over to all who come in contact with them.  The parents have chosen to work with a group of young families who support one another, and who have formed a community, along with a priest who has chosen to go to the poorest section he could find.  One of my confirmation students recently visited the mission in Mexico, and it changed her life.  I could tell when she returned that, even though she went there supposedly to evangelize the "poor," she herself had been evangelized by them.  She came back no longer cynical, but glowing.  (She is the very one who asked me several months ago if this was "real," because she did not want to waste time praying if what I was teaching her was not real.)  Now she knows for herself that it is. 

That which we have received from God is what we have to give to others.  If we will not receive, we will be condemned to have nothing to give, and our dream of being a blessing to others will die within us.  We will be condemned to say to the world, "Make me happy," instead of pouring out upon the world around us the blessings we have received.  We call God "Father" because "every good and perfect gift comes down from above," as the Scripture tells us.  Many years ago, I had to learn to look up instead of to others or to myself for what I needed.  And that opening to God changed my life forever!

The Father wants to make us in His own image and likeness -- that is, He wants us to be a blessing to the earth.  And to that end, He gives us His own Image and Likeness, His only-begotten Son, who dwells within us to transform our earthly likeness into His own.  We too, like Jesus, can finally say, "Go and tell John what you see:  the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."  The kingdom of God is among you!