" 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 !" Numbers 6: 22-27

The central celebration of today's Solemnity is the mystery of the Incarnation, which gives Mary the title, Mother of God. The Church sees this as an occasion to announce a blessing whose fruit is peace.

The word blessing comes from a Latin word which means to speak well of, or wish good for someone. A blessing comprises two elements: the expulsion of evil and God's taking possession.

For example, Isaac's blessing of his son, Jacob was " May God give to you of the dew of the heavens and of the fertility of the earth.cursed be those who curse you and blessed be those who bless you " (Gen 27:28f).

It is important to remember that, for the ancients, to speak a word to someone is to bring about the reality of which it speaks. It is also true that when a Jew blessed another person that blessing was considered a petition to God; when he blessed God, it was an expression of praise and gratitude.

Added to this, certain individuals possessed special authority to call down God's blessings e.g. A father upon his children.

The blessing in Numbers 6: 22-27 first recognises people's dependence upon God ( bless you and keep you ), then that divine pleasure would result from God's blessings ( shine upon you and be gracious to you ), and finally peace resulting in internal tranquillity and happiness ( look upon you kindly and give you peace ).

In the blessing of the New Year Solemnity God's Word is spoken and the blessing that is Christ takes on the flesh of Mary so that the flesh of humankind may be set free from its leaning toward sin and evil and be possessed as it were by God's Spirit.

This is the perfect blessing upon which we may all draw for the transformation of creation and the establishment of genuine peace.

" As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart ."

Both receiving and giving a blessing requires trust so that when Mary said yes to God at the Annunciation, she did not know the full implications of her "yes" but she walked in trust. Mary was able to do this through prayer and contemplation (pondering).

The same goes for those who give a blessing, that too requires trust because we often do not know the process of God's mysterious action when we bless others.

Just recently my younger sister, in a moment of pondering whilst driving, asked God what she should do if someone threatened her or was aggressive towards her and God responded in her thoughts that she should bless that person and express love for him/her.

The very next day (no coincidence I am sure) whilst attempting to park in a mall car park, she encountered a man parked sideways and blocking two parking slots. She approached the man gently, although irritable at his insensitivity, and asked him to move further down so that she could park.

The man's response was a tirade of cursing and abuse, as if he had the right to block others from parking. My sister remembered the fruit of her pondering and began to respond to each of the man's outbursts with "Yes, I know, but I love you!" The female occupant began to laugh at him, which apparently made him angrier and determined to belittle my sister.

Her response each time was the same however and eventually the man's voice began to soften and his face turned to one of confusion. The blessing was working both for my sister and the man who eventually quietly acknowledged my sister, got in his vehicle and drove off. My sister said she felt at peace and victorious.

Is this not how our New Year should begin? There is so much hurt, anger, frustration and disillusionment around us that needs someone to have the courage to dispel with a blessing.

Love is the only thing that truly has the power to transform, but for us to share in that spirit of love, we must have God in our thoughts and on our minds, continuously being blessed by God's grace.

For the new year let us then strive to become persons who transform a broken and hurting world by consistently giving blessing and thanks when faced with hatred aggression, crime, mistrust, fear and all that is negative.

To do this is to share in the blessing of Mary's motherhood and receive and give the perfect blessing. In the words of the Solemn blessing for the New Year in the Church;

May God grant you unwavering faith, constant hope and love that endures to the end.

Fr Robert Llanos is Episcopal Vicar for Family Life and vice rector of the Regional Seminary of St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs.