Monday, March 05, 2007

And God Bless Me!

This morning at the supermarket I got in line for my favorite cashier. She has a grandson who shares a name with Little Brother but is a few months older. She always remembers Little Brother's name, and if he's not with me she always asks about him, and tells me what her grandson is up to.

Today she mentioned that when he says his prayers at night, he goes through the usual list of "God Bless" that we all do with our children, naming beloved family members and friends--and at the end of the list, he names himself. She said that this is the only one of her many grandchildren who does this.

Coincidentally, Little Brother does the same thing--and he's the only one in the family who does. We laughed about how cute the little guys are.

It's more than cute, though. It's actually a pretty wise move. How often do we ask God to bless us? How often do we ask for prayers for ourselves? That thought struck me yesterday as we prayed the Confiteor at the beginning of Mass:
"...and I ask the Blessed Mary, ever virgin,
All the angels and saints,
And you, my brothers and sisters,
To pray for me to the Lord Our God."

We should not be afraid to ask for prayers and blessings for ourselves, and we should not hesitate to be generous in offering them to others. There's a lot we can learn from the total trust that children show in God. They say their prayers anticipating that God will be good to them and to those whom they love. They trust God to provide them and their loved ones with what they need. Do we?

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