A New Year is waiting to unfold before us

As Catholics, as Christians, we hold that time is sacred. Through the course of time God’s plan of salvation unfolds. Every human person is a part of that plan. We believe that God uses us as individuals and as communities to bring about His Kingdom. Thus the importance of ringing in the New Year with prayer and worship asking that the Lord give us guidance and wisdom in seeing His plan at work. And also to give thanks and turn to the Lord with a grateful heart for all that He has blessed us with in the past year.
Thus, we may complain about the weather: it is frigid cold and snowing as I write this, and what I really want is a beach in south Florida. But, we know that spring is just about 75 days off. We might find ourselves complaining about politicians, especially is Washington, but we are grateful for the freedoms that we have. Approximately 2 billion people on our planet do not enjoy the freedoms we take for granted. And, if you don’t like what they are doing in Washington, go to the polls and vote them out. We may find ourselves complaining about our relatives, but every family has at least one kooky relative (and some are blessed with an abundance). But if you look at them as adding “color” or “flair” to family gatherings you can find yourself praying for them with a charitable heart.

We can find ourselves complaining about thing as we get stuck inside, and generally, they are things that we cannot fix or change---your daughter’s purple hair, you can change, but your mother-in-law’s attitude, probably not. But the things we can change in our lives are fundamental to our well being. As we start a new year, we can honestly take a hard look in the mirror and see who we really are: God has called us to be mature, responsible and rational Christian adults. But are we living virtuous lives? Are we taking care of our bodies? Do we pray? Do we attend church on Sunday and truly belong to a community of faith? Is our faith moving us to action? Christian action?
We can complain, gripe, moan until the cows come home. But as we begin this new year of 2022, we are given the opportunity (and we have to think of it as an opportunity) to take a good look at our lives and see where God is calling us to be. In the Catholic church this is known as prayerful reflection. We do this before going to Confession and asking Jesus to forgive our sins. God’s time is sacred. Here is our opportunity!
Rev. Patrick Christopher is the pastor at St. Joseph parish in Apple Creek. He can be reached via email at stjoeapc@gmail.com.