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.” (Numbers 6:22-27)
What an odd reading to have for the marvelous feast day of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, celebrated on January 1! Shouldn’t we instead hear Isaiah’s prophecy about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son named Immanuel? Or perhaps Zephaniah’s words exhorting “Daughter Zion” to shout and rejoice? Instead, we have Moses teaching the priests how to bless the Israelites. Why?
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Last night, I dreamed that God resurrected my beautiful adopted aunt, Mary Jo Hoffman. But morning renewed my mourning for her: Christmas trees, snow globes, and music greeted my grieving heart. Relate?
In previous years, my maternal grandpa (a.k.a. “Papa Ray”) died near Thanksgiving and my adopted “Grandpa Morley” died near Christmas. i understand that people cannot compare grief, but I believe we all know that the holidays challenge the grieving.
Christmas arrives like a pretty package full of grief triggers: Empty chairs, missing faces, and silent voices seem to haunt the holidays.
12 Ways of Christmas for the Grieving