Hugh Macken, Jr.

Ask the average follower of Jesus, or me on most days, "How has God blessed you?" and without thinking too hard, I might rattle off a ton of answers... a beautiful family, a good job, health. If St. Paul heard my answer, he'd snap back with "Blasphemy!" At the top of the list of all my gratefuls should be Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. That ONE blessing is infinitely more than enough to call myself blessed. St. Ignatius of Loyola prayed it in his prayer of surrender: "Give me only your love and your grace. These are enough for me." If I'm honest, my answer is this: sometimes. Sometimes I can rest in the reality that God is all I need. Most of the time I live convinced that I need all sorts of other things too, in order to be safe, happy, and content. Thank the Father for sending the Son who died for us, and rose from the dead... without that gift, we'd have no real reason to hope. The next time you are counting your blessings, count Jesus first. ____ ⚓ Want reflections like this in your inbox? Sign up for the Daily Anchor: reallifecatholic.com/subscri…