Cosmologists today tell us that the universe has no single center. Its center is everywhere, every place, every planet, every city, every species, and every person. But we already know this. Faith tells us that what ultimately defines us and gives us our identity and energy is the image and likeness of God in us. We are God’s blessed ones, masters of creation, special to God and special within creation. Deep down, whether we admit it or not, we each nurse the secret of being special. In our daily lives that often causes more heartaches than it solves. It is not easy to live out our blessed, special status when, most of the time, everything around us belies that we are special. But, while over-inflated egos do cause their share of heartaches, it is a still an unhealthy temptation to believe that we are not blessed simply because life finds us one-among-six-billion-others, struggling, and seemingly not special in any way. Faith tells the true story: We are, all of us, made in God’s image and likeness, blessed, and our private secret that we are special is in fact the deepest truth. I can be empty, have nothing, and still be God’s blessed one! Being blessed and special is not dependent upon how full or empty my life is at a given moment. I can be a big nobody and still be God’s blessed one. Blessedness doesn’t depend upon fame, on being a household name. Our blessedness is not predicated on having a VIP elevator, or on having any special privileges that set us apart from others. We are God’s blessed ones, even when we find ourselves riding the city buses. And it is good to remember, namely, that we are God’s special, blessed sons and daughters, even when we lives seem empty, anonymous, and devoid of any special privileges because then we won’t forever be putting God and our restless hearts to the test, demanding more than ordinary life can give us.[1]
[1] Excerpt from Fr. Ron Rolheiser’s reflection, “Our Three Temptations,” July 2007.