The word ‘bless’ aptly sums up what we need to sail through another year. Without the blessing of the Lord our lives will be a failure. The first reading speaks of the Lord’s blessing for the people, which is a strong assurance of God’s abiding presence. Do we have the confidence to claim this blessing? God wants us to stay close to him and be blessed by him. One person who lived in this blessing, in the shadow of God’s love was the Blessed Mother. She said in the Magnificat: “He has looked upon me”. The angel Gabriel called her blessed among women. Being blessed does not mean having a life without troubles or heart breaks. It means having the grace to deal with these heartaches in the way God wants us to. As we face this New Year, we are called to accept the promises God gives us and ponder over them: to dwell on them and not let them pass by and be forgotten. God is reminding us that he is our Father and we are no more slaves but heirs adopted in love and carried in his arms of love.

Abba Father, may we have the grace to remind ourselves that we are no longer slaves but children of the kingdom. Amen.