"Blessed be God ..."

Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians (1:1-10), which is likely the compilation of two or three letters to different communities, with a magnificent prayer of blessing. This is our first reading today and it reminds us that many of our prayers and liturgies revolve around expressions of blessings or acknowledgements of God and all that God has done. From the beginning of mass when we sign ourselves to the blessing given by the celebrant at the conclusion, our celebration is an act of blessing in tune with an ancient practice, as seen in the beginning of this so-called letter to the Ephesians - "Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us ..." We follow the same format when we say our prayer before meals - "Bless us O Lord and these thy gifts ..." It is in this spirit of blessing that we remember St Ignatius of Antioch. He was bishop of Antioch and was arrested and condemned to death and transported to Rome. Along the way he wrote seven letters to various churches. These letters give us a sense of what life was like in the early church. Ignatius knew what he was facing and prayed constantly, as seen in his letters, for the grace to die well. He did and was martyred in 107. Let us be imbued with the same sense of gratitude that inspired the prayers and writings of Paul of Tarsus and Ignatius of Antioch. We also ask for God's blessings upon our world which is so fraught with the cries of the victims of war and unrelenting violence and the tensions and conflicts aroused by bitterly fought elections.