Blessed With Every Blessing

Henri Nouwen, the late Dutch Catholic priest, had a very interesting life and ministry--teaching courses on spirituality at Harvard and Yale, spending a year at a Trappist monastery, serving as a missionary to the poor in South America, and finally, coming home in the closing chapter of his life to a live-in community for mentally disabled adults in Toronto, where he served as both a personal caregiver to a profoundly disabled man, and as chaplain for the entire community. That’s the context for this story I want to share with you from his book, Life of the Beloved:

Not long ago, in my own community, I had a very personal experience of the power of a real blessing. Shortly before I started a prayer service in one of our houses, Janet, a handicapped member of our community, said to me, “Henri, can you give me a blessing?” I responded in a somewhat automatic way by tracing with my thumb the sign of the cross on her forehead. Instead of being grateful, however, she protested vehemently, “No, that doesn’t work. I want a real blessing!” I suddenly became aware of the ritualistic quality of my response to her request and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, …let me give you a real blessing when we are all together for the prayer service.” She nodded with a smile, and I realized that something special was required of me.

After the service, when about thirty people were sitting in a circle, I said, “Janet has asked me for a special blessing. She feels that she needs that now.” As I was saying this, I didn’t know what Janet really wanted. But she didn’t leave me in doubt for very long. As soon as I had said this, she stood up and walked towards me. I was wearing a long white robe with ample slides covering my hands as well as my arms. Spontaneously, Janet put her arms around me and laid her head against my chest. Without thinking, I covered her with my sleeves so that she almost vanished in the folds of my robe. As we held each other, I said, “Janet, I want you to know that you are God’s Beloved Daughter. You’re precious in God’s eyes. Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the people in your house and all the good things you do show us what a beautiful human being you are. I know you feel a little low these days and that there is some sadness in your heart, but I want you to remember who you are: a very special person, deeply loved by God and all the people who are here with you.”

As I said these words, Janet raised her head and looked at me; and her broad smile showed that she had really heard and received the blessing. When she returned to her place, Jane, another handicapped woman, raised her hand and said, “I want a blessing, too.” She stood up and, before I knew it, had also laid her head against my chest. After I had spoken words of blessing to her, many more of the handicapped people followed, expressing the same desire to be blessed. Then a twenty-four year-old caregiver and student raised his hand and said, “And what about me?” “Sure,” I said, “Come.” As we stood before each other, I put my arms around him and said, “John, it is so good that you’re here. You’re God’s Beloved Son. Your presence is a joy for all of us. When things are hard and life is burdensome, always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love.” As I spoke these words, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and then he said, “Thank you, thank you very much.”

That evening I recognized the importance of blessing and being blessed, and reclaimed it as a true sign of the Beloved. The blessings that we give to each other expressions of the blessing that rests on us from all eternity. It is the deepest affirmation of our true self. We all need an ongoing blessing that allows us to hear in an ever-new way that we belong to a loving God who will never leaves us alone, but will remind us always that we are guided by love on every step of our lives. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as so many other figures in Israel’s history, all heard that blessing. Jesus, too, heard a voice from heaven saying, “You are my Beloved Son. With you I am well pleased.” This blessing sustained Jesus through all that followed. He never lost the intimate knowledge that he was blessed.

Hear these inspired words of the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 1:3-8):

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his children through Jesus Christ, according to his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, when he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of all sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”