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January 1, 2019
To bless means to pour out divine, sustaining power, which reveals itself as growth, prosperity, abundance, fertility, and success. The blessing in the Book of Numbers for today’s Solemnity ends with the promise of peace for its recipients; it is the promise of wholeness, happiness, and harmony. God’s blessing and favor were both for the shepherds themselves but also to all of Israel and through Israel the entire human family.
In the Gospel, Luke tells us, “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” The word “kept” in Greek suggests that Mary’s response to the shepherds' message was to preserve and treasure. The word translated as “reflecting” means to puzzle or tease out the meaning or consequences of what has happened.
These words suggest that Mary does not fully comprehend, at the moment, what the events might mean, so she turns them over in her heart. Because of this, she is the disciple of prayer and discernment, two of the most important characteristics of every Christian disciple. Mary is then the model and guide for discerning God’s will when life’s events prove difficult to ponder. She is skilled at the discernment of spirits, testing all things so as to best respond in both freedom and love so as to be a blessing for others. And so it must be for us as well.
New Year celebrations are not complete without resolutions. So like Mary we resolve to move into 2019 by entrusting the future to God’s loving design for each of us. We resolve to allow this trust to allay any fear and dispel any anxiety that may tempt us to despair of God’s loving providence towards us. We resolve to become more open to the surprises that God has in store for us often through the most unlikely of messengers. And finally, we resolve that through the Spirit of Christ we become a source of blessing for one another.