The desire to see the face of God dwells in the depths of man’s heart and forms it. On this first day of the year, the Church makes her the practice of exchanging best wishes and does so precisely by strengthening the hope expressed in the priestly blessing: May the Lord make his face shine for you and grant you peace. . We contemplate this face, long sought and often lost by men of every time and place, in that child, born of a woman and adored by shepherds, whose name is salvation / Jesus. We welcome the secret light that radiates from a smiling face and name – shining in Hebrew refers to a smile – which are the greatest gift to resume with ficudia the path towards that manger where our peace sleeps in the arms of one of us, Mary, the Mother of God. A new year as a desire to meet the Face in the faces, preserving its features and meditating on its luminous wrinkles without losing the conscious smile opens up before us. Mary, the Mother of God, takes us by the hand to cross the time that is still given to us as an extension of God’s patience for our conversion. Today’s liturgy reminds us that no conversion would be possible without a sensitivity to the grace of life as a gift to be welcomed and shared. In the sign of the Mother, let us open ourselves to the gift of peace as a task and certainly not as a convenience. The art of guarding of which Mary is a teacher is the fruit of that humility that allows us to live time with gratitude and awareness.

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Community of the Koinonia de la Visitation

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey