Old and New - Good and Bad - Past and Future

January 1st is a great day to pray. It is a day when we naturally look back on the past year. Isn't it always the case that the year was filled with good and bad? The two often mix together like the parable of the weeds and wheat (see Matthew 13:24-30). With Holy Job we accept both in faith (see Job 2:10). It is tempting to interpret bad things in a shallow over-simplistic way, thinking that somehow God is punishing us. Jesus clarified this way of thinking in Luke 13:1-5. He made reference to two events in which people suffered tragic deaths. He went on to say that it is wrong to think that they were bigger sinners than the rest of us!

In this past year I said hello to a new niece who was born in June. I said goodbye to my beloved grandfather who went to his eternal reward on June 19, the baby's due date. Thankfully baby Greta was born a few weeks earlier so they were able to meet each other! We pray that we will all be together forever in heaven, please God. While we are still here, let us make good use of the time that is given us.

January 1st is a great day to pray. It is a day when we naturally look forward to the coming year. Let us pray that this year will find us filled with greater faith, hope and love. May the newborn baby Jesus be born anew in our hearts this year!

Fr. Luke baptizes his niece Greta Ann.

Let us pray,

Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR

St. Joseph Friary, Harlem, NY