The Lord said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The 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!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.” (Nm 6:22-27)
Blessings.
Our Mass started out with a reminder of our many blessings in the Reading from Numbers when God instructed Moses on how to bless the people.
God wanted His people to remember the blessings showered upon them. Why? Because, too often, His people looked at all the negative things that were happening to them in their lives. As they did so, they drifted farther away from God.
I guess that is a tragic flaw in our human nature. When times get bad, we often fail to remember that God is there with us and for us. Instead, we blame God for our misfortunes and begin to look to ourselves for some resolution to our problems. We all know what happens when we depend solely upon ourselves, though. We are doomed to fall flat on our faces.
We are at the beginning of a New Year. Some might be tempted to look back at the past year and count all the things that went wrong and the times that were bad. In doing so, we run the risk of drifting farther from God.
If, however, we look back and count all the things that went right, we have a better chance of seeing God present to us not only in those good times but in the times that may have been bleak as well.
God always blesses His people. It is usually His people who fail to recognize the blessings that come our way. In this New Year, let us make every attempt to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord and His goodness to us.
FAITH ACTION: Look back at last year and take the time to thank God for the many blessings He showered upon you. Then, look ahead, and ask God to be with you throughout this New Year.