New Year’s Day Meditation

By Fr. Fredric Abiera, OAR

We all know that life is a constant change, and obviously, on New Year’s Day, perhaps more than any other day of the year, we are aware of that constant change, we are aware of the passage of time. As we move from 2005 to 2006, we realize more than any other day of the year, perhaps except during our birthdays, that time indeed flies. Yesterday, last month, last year shall never come again, and the best we can do for has been is to leave them in the mercy of God. As we begin another year, certainly we are made aware of the passing of the limited world, as well as of our encounter with the God of Eternal existence and the promise of eternal life in heaven.

On New Year’s Day, perhaps more than any other day of the year, we are aware of two of God’s gifts to us. The first is the blessing of memory. They say that the word “January” comes from the Roman god ‘Janus,’ a god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. Well, we do not have two faces but we do have the gift of memory, which is special to us, as well as essential to us. Through memory, we learn and communicate; through memory, we recognize the significance of the people and events of the past; through memory, we memorialize and we do our liturgy in remembrance of Jesus’ life here on earth. Through memory, we can hold on to those wonderful experiences we have in the past, experiences that can be the source of joy and encouragement for us in this new year and in the future. Yes! Because of the gift of memory, we can look back to the past and see the road that has been traveled so far, so as to guide us and give us the perspective of the journey that lies ahead of us.

The other gift that God has given us is the blessing of hope, which allows us to look forward with a sense of renewal and inspired energy. New Year’s Day should always be a day of hope: hope no matter how unpleasant or difficult the past year had been for us. Hope gives us new opportunities, optimism and confidence that the year ahead of us can be better. And of course, we can participate in that effort by starting within ourselves, within our family and within our community the resolutions that we can make to build our Christian lives even much stronger this year. And we can do that, first of all during this New Year, by examining our priorities in life, and second, by reevaluating our life in order to bring it into a closer harmony with God’s will. Moreover, this gift of hope also allows us to let go of the past hurts, real or imagined, to let go of our guilt feelings, animosity, resentments or hatred in our hearts so that we can move on free from the burdens of those negative sentiments that we might have in the past. The past is the past, we cannot change the past. All we can do, as our Father Saint Augustine said, is to leave our past in the mercy of God, and move on toward the future with confidence in God’s care.

Yes! As we begin a new year, let it be our resolution to get rid of spiritual and moral mediocrity, but instead, to strive to maintain high standards of Christian behavior, values and character. Let this New Year be not only a year to survive, but rather, a year to thrive and flourish in our Christian life. Let this year be not only a year to cope, but a year to overcome evil and grow in God. Let this year give us an opportunity to change from grief to grace, from sin to sanctity, from lowliness to holiness. In our world, achievements are given the priority: technological achievements, financial progress, intellectual growth and success, all of which are great and wonderful. But, as Pope Benedict XVI tells us, we should never forget as well to strive for spiritual and moral progress and achievement, because otherwise, we will end up in spiritual barrenness and emptiness of heart.

On New Year’s Day, we also celebrate the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. The title, the Mother of God, is indeed an honor and a dignity which no human imagination could have thought possible, and which Mary rightly deserves, for she became the Mother of Christ who was the messiah and the Son of God. Indeed, Mary stands to us today and always as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us should wish for ourselves in the New Year. Mary is our model of being courageous- she was the first devoted disciple of Christ. Mary is an example of one of is an understanding Mother who was teacher, helper, supporter of those first Christians and who continues to be teacher, helper and supporter of all who follow.
My Brothers and sisters, as we are beginning again a New Year, let us give thanks to God for all the many blessings that we have received this past year, with all its flaws and imperfections, and welcome the New Year with new resolutions to continue on our journey with strong faith in God, and determination to continue living the Christian life God wants us to live. Happy New Year to one and all!

 

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