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Advent Reflections - Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
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January 1, 2023The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!
Families ask for a blessing of a new house. Parents ask for a blessing of a new baby. Students ask for a blessing when they graduate. For something new to happen, there is some distress involved but also joy and hope. People of faith ask for blessings when something new is happening because a blessing brings about the certainty that God is with us. A blessing gives us a sense of peace that goes beyond our understanding. A blessing is about the wholeness and well-being that only God can give.
Mary, the Mother God, carried with her God’s blessing, the Child Jesus. Mary, the Mother of God, is a reaffirmation of the mystery of the Incarnation, the Son of God born of a Virgin. The Word made flesh in the womb of a woman to bring us to wholeness and well-being.
As we begin this new year, we also bless the new time that begins today. We ask for the blessing of the fulness of time in our lives. A time, a new year, to receive the Son of God in our lives and become free of everything that oppress our lives. That this year, guided by the Spirit of Christ, we may grow as sons and daughters of God. On behalf of the brothers of the Southern Dominican Province of Saint Martin de Porres, have a Blessed New Year!
