Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 1, 2009 - The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God - New Year's Day
[Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21]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!
The beginning of the new calendar year has its own rituals and resolutions. The rituals often involve food and drink! My father was fond of having sardines and port wine! Others go for black-eyed peas and cabbage, etc. etc. The resolutions are another matter. Studies show that most New Year's resolutions don't survive the month of January! But we still make them: lose weight, study harder, be nicer to whomever we haven't been in the habit of being very nice to, say more prayers, etc. etc. As long as these things go beyond the resolution stage, they're pretty good things to do. I must confess that I've never been much for making New Year's resolutions. I'm more likely to sit down for a few minutes and review the past year. I especially want to look for the blessings and be grateful for those. The Church, since the reform of the liturgical calendar after Vatican II, has named this day after the Virgin Mary. She is presented in her role as a disciple who hears the word of God and keeps it. As a Dominican friar, I think I benefit more from a brief set of questions based on what we Dominicans call our "four pillars: prayer, study, community life, ministry." What kind of "pray-er, learner, lover and server" have I been the past year and how have I recognized God's blessings in those ways? It may not be your way of "doing" New Year's, but it works for me and I'm just sharing it with you. Happy New Year! AMEN
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