As a longtime word nerd, I tend to look up even those words I think I know. People say, “Bless you!” when someone sneezes: it’s a wish for good health. The store cashier may smile and say, “Have a blest day!” Wow—the implications are amazing!

My favorite American Heritage Dictionary has a lot of definitions of “bless”: to make holy or sanctify; to invoke divine favor upon the recipient; to make the sign of the cross over; to honor as holy; to confer well-being or prosperity; to endow with talent. “Blessed/blest” means worthy of worship; holy; held in veneration, revered; bringing happiness, pleasure or contentment. But “holy” keeps coming up first.

Holy are you! Held in reverence are you! You receive God’s favor! God has honored you with talents!

No wonder there are so many good songs about the Beatitudes—the Dameans’ “Beatitudes”; Schutte’s “O How Blessed”; John Becker’s “Lead Me, Lord”; and Greif’s “We Are the Light of the World,” to name just a few. Choose one that’s already in your community’s repertoire—they’ll sing more confidently, especially if, before Mass starts, you can briefly point out the connection between “blessed” and “holy.” 

Today’s psalm is one of my favorites, so it’s no surprise I wrote a cheerful setting of it: “Praise the Lord, My Soul” (OCP), using the jaunty folk tune “In the Good Old Colony Times.” Just don’t try to to make a dirge out of it.

Have a blest day!