Sunday, January 1, 2012
Numbers 6:22-27 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21
All three of these readings have a message for us. The first one is a Hebrew Blessing from the Old Testament. It is my wish for each of us this New Year.
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!
In the reading from Galatians we hear that God sent the Spirit of the Son into our hearts, so that we can cry out to God: Abba, Father! Abba really means Daddy… Do we turn to God the way a child can turn to his/her Daddy knowing how beloved we are, how cherished we are by this Father-God? It’s worth pondering because we might realize just how constant God’s care, love and guidance are at all times, in good times and in hard times.
The Gospel reminds us of the part of the Christmas story where the shepherds, after hearing the angels sing and getting the message about the newborn Babe, come to the stable and find the baby in the manger. They kneel in amazement… The Scripture says that Mary kept all these things in her heart and pondered them. What an example to us of what it means to pray, to reflect and to savor the mysteries of God and the mysteries of life! Sometimes we rush through life and take no time at all to reflect and to ponder. We have here an invitation to do so, to live life mindfully, with attention and meaning…
Mary is a great woman because she believed, she trusted, she pondered and reflected. She is truly the Mother of Jesus and hence the Mother of God. We, however, certainly cannot be that. But we can try to imitate her faith, her trust and her ability to reflect and be mindful. We can do that here in our health care work and in our private lives. Our faith and trust will be sensed by our patients, residents, colleagues and loved ones whenever we are with them. We will be more positive and hopeful people. If we ponder and reflect and live with mindfulness, we may be less likely to make mistakes or say something rude or hurtful.
These attitudes could be great New Year’s resolutions… Something to ponder..?
Happy New Year…
Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care
Tags: feast of mary, galatians 4, Gospel, holy mother of god, january 1, luke 2, new year, numbers 6, pastoral care, St. Mary's, sunday gospel, Sunday Scribes
