Blessings Put Life Into Our Relationships

We are at the start of a new year. The pages of our calendar for 2023 are still empty. What comes will either fill the pages completely or close them entirely.

The Lord Gives Instructions

In the Book of Numbers (6:24-26) we can find a very beautiful text which we heard in the Mass on Sunday, January 1, 2023. This service was the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. In this text, the Lord told Moses to speak to Aaron and his sons, telling them to bless the people with the following words:

“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!”

Blessings Unite Us

I am convinced that a blessing is more than just words. In the act of blessing, something mysterious and unfathomable takes place. The one who gives the blessing unites with the one who receives.  A father or mother who blesses their child expresses that they want to be there for their child, to protect, to strengthen and to guide him.

God Blesses Us

When God blesses, HE unites and reaffirms Himself with His people and He renews His promise to be there for His children – like a good father and a loving mother. Like every blessing, God’s blessing is the promise to preserve life, to sustain it and to complete it. This divine love is found most especially in the deepest mystery of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a promise that resounds beyond the Season of Christmas.

Happy New Year!

The Parish Team of Good Shepherd and Gut Hirt wish you and your loved ones a blessed, joyful and happy New Year.

Kurt Schaller, Pastor

(for the extended text of Fr. Kurt's homily from January 1, 2023, please see the entry under The Voice of My Faith)