I missed mass today! From the book of Numbers , it reads: "The LORD said to Moses: 'Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. 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!'" Sometimes I have received that blessing and it has punctured my heart. Why? I don't know.. somehow I have become frozen or numb to the knowledge htat God is above (or where ever God is) and that God cares deeply about me and about all creation. To be on the receiving end of a blessing is a powerful thing. To be the one who blesses is a powerful thing too! But both activities require an openess that sometimes ain't there. When I was in the hospital with my grandmother who was nearing the end of her life, a hospital chaplain came in to visit. My grandmother was not a church goin' gal. For marital harmony she had agreed to go along with my grandfather's position that religion wasn't just a lot of "hooey" but that it was at the root of the world's ills. Anyway the chaplain took the opportunity to talk to me and to leave my grandmother in peace. She taught me a Christian adaptation of a Buddhist way of being present to my grandmother as the two of us sat in her hospital room. I would sit quietly next to my beloved grandmother and pray that all that was broken would leave my grandmother and through me be lifted up to the "throne of heaven" (give it to God) and then ask God to send His love through me back to my grandmother. This prayer was a gift to me and I hope to my grandmother. Now, this is a way too that I can bless another AND ME without speaking aloud. God can work in so many ways.. and its a good thing because we're complicated creatures!
2 comments:
That little number (ha) usually catches me because I remember the first time I actually paid attention to it and felt like shouting "HEY!" right then and there because I always thought that blessing was an Irish one--may the wind keep your hair out of your face and may your ankles be strong...only it's way better. And of course it is.
What really caught me today was Mary pondering things in her heart. I love it when she does that! (and I got an inch closer to understanding my Mary issue, and in getting that, I get so much closer to the Lord blessing and keeping me and letting his face shine upon me)
Me too Jennie! for a world run by extroverts, Mary in this instance is a wonderful model for pondering and holding sacred what is mysterious. It makes sense that what is "of God" would potentially not "make sense" ... all of my mental machinations will not "get it". May the Lord bless you!
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