This weekend our readings focus on being “blessed:”
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.
Blessed the man who…delights in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are you when people hate you…on account of the Son of Man.
Clearly, trusting, hoping, and delighting in the Lord are the paths to being blessed. On the surface, that sounds pretty easy. However, while hoping in the Lord may be easy, truly trusting in the Lord is not. Even harder is being hated because of our love for the Lord. After the Superbowl, players who thanked God were criticized by those who oppose Christianity. Can’t we “delight” in the Lord without being hated?
Others say that we are not “blessed” just “lucky.” I admit that, before I became a priest, I would say how “lucky” I was: “I am so lucky to have a great wife and son,” or “I am so lucky that my career is going so well.” Now that I am a priest, I talk about how “blessed” I am, how blessed my son and daughter-in-law are, how blessed St. Ed’s is, etc. Many people see blessing as the religious version of luck, but the two concepts have nothing in common. Luck is something that randomly happens to one and not to another. Blessings are the direct result of our decisions and actions.
Here is the Google AI response to the difference between being blessed and being lucky:
"Blessed" is often used to describe a state of happiness or good fortune that comes from divine intervention, while "lucky" is used to describe a state of happiness or good fortune that comes from chance.
Bobby Schuller, grandson of the great Dr. Robert Schuller, says it this way:
Friend, you are not just lucky…you have inherited blessings too numerous to count. When you wake up each day, you have good fortune — not because of luck — but because of who your Lord is…When you approach each day with your confidence securely grounded in your Savior, good things will abound in your life!
Finally, James 1:17 beautifully explains the concept of being blessed: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” We must thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us!
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