Numbers 6:24-27 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
24 The Lord bless you and keep you!
25 The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
26 The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
27 So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.
This beautiful Bible verse was part of Sunday’s reading. How apropos to start the new year with this powerful verse! The Lord wants us to be blessed this new year and more than ever He is going to shine His light on those who invoke His Holy Name. To express His love for us is truly impossible because His love is uniquely hallowed, and we can only imagine the depth of it.
We all have our quirky New Year’s resolutions. Mine are always the same, so I will not bore you with them. But what struck me at Mass this morning was that we are given another year to improve what has been lacking in our lives. This year will bring much improvement for the betterment of all mankind. The veils of dissension will be lifted and finally the truth will run a great victory lap. Because we have been living under the covering of lies, our vision has become blurred and our ears muffled. But God has heard the cries of His people, and many will suffer for their misdeeds. I will refer to this year as The Wait And See Year. Many blessings will fall on our beautiful nation and a great revival will spread like a massive out-of-control fire. We have been patiently waiting for God’s hand and this is the year of reckoning. We must continue in prayer and attend church services because the anointing and the Word of God sustains us. But you must have a covering. What does this mean? It means that you must be under the authority of a priest or pastor; you can’t do this on your own.
The Covering
I am Catholic and my covering is the Catholic Church. I obey the rules handed down from the Ten Commandments and follow the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If you are Protestant you, too, have a powerful covering. There are many people out there professing their faith but making themselves their own cozy church. They know the Word of God, but it’s not apparent in their lives. They have become arrogant in the knowledge of God and refuse to submit to any higher authority. These people are unstable because they are not standing on solid ground and under authority. Without a covering you will fall for any wind of doctrine. The lust for the things of this world will guide their hearts.
God gives us special blessings when we call upon Him. Some of these blessings are grace, mercy, and faith.
Grace
How do we obtain grace? Grace is an unmerited, gratuitous gift. We petition God for natural graces, for our health, favorable weather, deliverance from war, famine and plague. The grace of God is supernatural and can be sensed in our spirit. Because it is a gift, we can ask God for it to be bestowed upon our lives and those of our loved ones. I always ask the Lord for grace when I’m tired and have so much to do. I ask Him for the grace to finish the work and to restore my energy. I ask for grace in difficult situations, that the Lord would give me insight and favor to get past any roadblock the Enemy has set before me. I ask for grace to teach the students in my catechism class. I beg God for grace when writing this Blog. The gift of grace is abounding because of His love.
Mercy
“The word ‘mercy’ comes from the Latin misericordia, which in turn comes from the two words miseria, meaning wretchedness, misery or affliction, and cor, meaning heart. Thus etymologically mercy means a heart for the wretchedness or affliction of another. Or, as we understand it in English, it means compassion or pity.” Fr. John Flader
Mercy also is unmerited; it’s a virtue that allows us to have compassion for those who are hurting, especially those who are suffering because of homelessness, substance abuse, and addictions. In this state most of the world will turn their heads and look the other way; but through the mercy of God we can feel their pain and ask Him to intervene on their behalf. The Spanish word for heart is corazón. Our heart is the core of all of our emotions; God placed it in the center of our bodies because it’s physically protected by our ribs. We were all created for a purpose. We have been given great gifts and those afflicted souls need our mercy and love in order for them to become who God has called them to be.
Faith
Faith has made me climb unattainable mountains. Just when I am exasperated and ready to give up, my prayers will be answered. Our life must be grounded in faith, for without it we are like a feather being tossed to and fro. I can share a personal testimony that I prayed for many years. I remained steadfast, even though many times I would lose faith and question God. About three years ago the Lord gave me a prophetic dream about the situation, but my prayers did not come to fruition until this year. I never gave up because God is faithful to answer all prayers!
5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
