Lottery of Life

Archbishop Naumann reminded us recent graduates at Benedictine College's Baccalaureate mass this past Friday that we have won the lottery of life. We have been given the great opportunity to attend a wonderful institution and graduate with a college degree. To get there, many of us had to be given much more than that...a great family, education, never having to worry about food, clothing, shelter, etc. We have won the lottery of life because it could be otherwise. We very well could have been born in a poverty stricken family with very little opportunities and even less security.

Much of our socioeconomic status is merely a consequence of circumstance. A certain set of circumstances resulting from decisions made by your ancestors, politicians, etc. have put you in the situation in which you find yourself. Yes, your decisions and actions can change your circumstances and that is a great part of our free society, but for many this is very difficult if not impossible. Some believe that they have earned all that they have received due to their hard work and own ingenuity, but in all cases none of it would be possible without a favorable set of circumstances.

So whether we've "earned" all of our material comforts or inherited them through favorable circumstance, we have won the lottery of life and I, too, would like to ask the question: How will you spend it? Remember, it could be otherwise.