Some people receive descendants and property in different ways. They have students, disciples or friends who admire them and strive to be like them. Or they have access to the land that others own. One need not have blood descendants and deeds of property to make life worthwhile. But it is what many people want.

It is what Abram wanted. He was an old man, childless. He lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, in modern-day Iraq. God made him a promise. God promised him the two desires that lay deep within his soul: descendants and property. “Count the stars, if you can. Just so shall your descendants be,” God said. And then, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River.” It was an amazingly generous gift. It could only come from God. It was beyond what someone could even hope for.

Because these desires are so strong, people react strongly when something goes wrong with them. If a child turns out different from what one hoped, or if property is vandalized, damaged or lost, people feel a huge sense of betrayal and despair.

Remember that God knows the desires of our hearts, and God wants to fulfill them with the descendants and property that will unfold the divine plan.

Written by Paul Turner. Liturgy Training Publications.
Copyright 2003, Archdiocese of Chicago