Blessedness is not conditional. It’s always available. Blessedness comes not through success in the eyes of the world but from being connected to the true God—“Like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream.”

There are two kinds of people, as the saying usually begins. And scripture tends to bear this out with numerous points of comparisons between the just and the wicked, or the wise person and the fool. Today’s readings cluster around the contrasting of those who are blessed versus those who are cursed.

Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon.

I stood atop a mesa in New Mexico from where I could see for miles. I was struck by the contrast between the vast stretches of barren desert and the narrow band of abundant life skirting the bank of a dry river bed.

A seasoned husband-and-wife jazz duet was being interviewed on television. It was fun seeing clips of their earlier days and hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of how they met and what other jazz greats they worked with throughout their long careers.

Years ago, the 8-year-old son of a family in the parish was devastated when the Chicago Cubs didn’t make it to the World Series. He asked his father how there could be a God since no one answered his or all the other long-suffering fans’ fervent prayers for the Cubs.

As we ponder our final destination, we ask God to help us learn to trust.

God wants our infinite desire.