I love the Mass readings for yesterday’s liturgy. God revealing Himself to the boy, Samuel; the psalmist’s delight in abandonment to God’s will; the call to glorify God because we are not our own; and finally, the meeting of the Lord and Simon, who is given a new name, Peter. Each one of us can personally claim these scriptures, and I’ll tell you why.
We are each called. Chosen. Like Samuel. Like Simon. Called to do something extraordinary. Not necessarily something on a grand scale, or what the world might view as significant, but something that is not the norm. Something incredible. And that something is to become saints.
Becoming a saint is extraordinary, and it’s actually not optional, but it doesn’t have to be daunting! All the saints have been people like you and me — daily trying to be more like God, to be closer to God, to console God; people who don’t give up on this pursuit, but keep walking in faith, even when it seems like no progress is being made. And who among us wouldn’t want to be close enough to God to console Him? To offer Him our hearts in reparation for all those who refuse to give Him this gift?
So if I want to become a saint, beginning by giving God my heart, what does this look like in action? When we give God our hearts, what we’re actually saying is,
“Lord, here is my whole heart. Make it like Yours. Flood my entire being with your grace that I may love the way You love. If I fall, please help me rise again and start over without discouragement, filled only with trust that You will sustain me.”
In other words, when I give Jesus my heart, I am surrendering every area of my life, every moment of each day, to the Lord, and asking Him to help me become a blesser. Because I want to become more like God, and that is how God loves: He blesses.
Although there are many different things we can focus on as we strive for holiness, even if the only thing we did every day, all day long, was try to bless — God, others, ourselves — our lives would be transformed! Think about it. And I mean really think about how many times a day your thoughts, words, and/or actions fall into any of these categories:
judgmental … negative … fearful … bitter … angry … resentful …
annoyed … malicious … cynical … doubtful … self-disparaging …
condescending … hopeless … self-focused … gossiping … blaming …
And I’m not only talking about the big stuff. I mean things as simple as being frustrated at all the bad drivers on the road, annoyed at the parents who won’t take their obnoxious kid out of church, or even being irritated at your spouse who just can’t seem to close the cupboard doors. Do any of these types of thoughts, words, and actions bless God, others, or yourself?
At first glance you might think that this doesn’t apply to you. Maybe you feel like you’re good at being a blesser or you don’t feel that you have issues in many of the areas I listed above. On a personal note, reflecting on this recently, I realized that even though I didn’t think I struggled with many of the above categories, when I actually stepped back and looked at how I relate to God, others, and myself, I started noticing countless instances where, without intending to, I was actually cursing instead of blessing. (And I don’t mean using bad language).
Part of becoming saints is consciously choosing to bless instead of curse. And it’s not just a one time choice, it’s a decision that we have to make again and again until it becomes a way of life. One of my favorite authors, Fr. Henri Nouwen, stresses this:
Fr. Nouwen describes this continual choice with a great phrase, “living under the blessing.”[2] In other words, he says we must come to a deep realization that we are blessed so that we can bless God, others, and ourselves. This realization can only come from time set aside for the Lord, time spent in prayer, sitting in silence, waiting to hear His voice calling us. The more we set aside time to be one-on-one with God, the easier it will become to hear Him speaking blessing over us. And the more we allow this blessing to seep into our beings, the more natural it will be for us to speak blessing back to God, over others, and over ourselves.
This week, let’s try to spend more time with the Lord, allowing ourselves to receive His blessing. May we continue to honestly examine our daily lives, rooting out and repenting of any ways we fail to bless, as we learn to become blessers. Let us ask Our Lady for her help in listening for the Lord’s voice, and “living under the blessing,” so that we can reflect God’s love to everyone we meet this week.
“Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.”[3]
[1] Life of the Beloved, pg. 82
[2] Ibid.
[3] 1 Sam. 3: 9
