STARTING ANEW IN 2023.........

Starting Anew in 2023

While listening to the radio recently I heard Johnny Logan sing his song "What's Another Year", and immediately my spirit questioned that statement. You see, in just a few days it will be New Year's Day. Perhaps there are many people who look at each year as "just another year." Not me. I find it is good to look back at the previous year to see the many experiences, good and bad, we have faced. We must believe they are stepping stones in our lives that help us grow. Certainly, it is important for us to learn from our past and to incorporate the wisdom we have obtained to help us in the future. No matter the situation, the Lord is with us. He will lead and guide us as we seek Him.

Passing Through

“I shall pass through this world only once. Therefore any good that I can do, any kind act that I can perform for any fellow-creature, let me do it now. Let me not delay, or omit it, for I shall not pass this way again.” - These words written in the 18th century are a positive challenge and aspiration as we begin another New Year. A new year that is now unfolding, like a flower with petals curled tightly concealing the beauty within. We are grateful to God for seeing us over the threshold of a new calendar year, and we pray that 2023 will be one that will see the end of our current pandemic and the return to a somewhat normal life. New Year's Eve celebrations are staggered around the globe due to the different time zones, but we all have this in common, no matter where we live geographically - we welcome the end of one calendar year and the beginning of a new one. The manner of celebrating may differ, but we also share a common hope that we can begin again. That hope can find its ultimate fulfilment by turning the One who can make all things new, Jesus Christ. Every new year brings a time of reflection of what we’ve accomplished, what our new goals will be and for what we are grateful. Lord, let this new year be filled with the things that are truly good, with the comfort of warmth in our relationships, with the strength to help those who need our help and the humility and openness to accept help from others. As we end one year and look to a new one, we pause to take inventory. In a rare moment of reflection and honest self-assessment, we admit our failures. We pledge to learn from them and move toward a better future. We all want to be better, to live our lives more fully and to love one another more selflessly. So, we make resolutions. Every New Year I read numerous articles about the questionable efficacy of these New Year's Resolutions. However, the fact remains, we all make them. The experience is universal. The question is - why do we do it? I suggest that they reveal something of our deepest longing. They present us with an invitation to exercise our human freedom and to choose a better way of life. But, we cannot do it on our own. We need God. So as we make our resolutions for the year ahead, let us go forward with great hope that all things can be possible. You see every time a new year begins it brings new opportunities to meditate, to think in a positive way, to wish we were better and to give best wishes to everyone we care for. A lot can happen in a year and between the good, the bad, and the ugly, this may seem like an understatement for most especially after the last few years of Covid-19. Everyone has a message for the year ahead, which comes from the depths of our hearts. So as we look forward to another new year, it is a time for giving thanks for blessings received, asking forgiveness and mercy for transgressions committed, forgiving those who have aggrieved us, and asking for mercy, grace and strength for the future. Already, just as the New Year is about to begin, we are aware of needing to make decisions about both our past and future. We cannot reject the past, but we can allow it to be redeemed. We cannot determine the future, but we can allow it to be permeated with the love and the mercy of God. I can look back on 2022 and the resolutions or new beginnings that I made and see how often I have failed to live up to those. I can look forward to trying to live my resolutions or new beginnings better in 2023, but, most of all, I can decide, here and now, to try to live today as it should be lived, because 'today' is all we ever really know. So, for me, 2023 will seek a renewed sense of purpose about what I am called to be and do and to try and love deeply from my heart. 

Fresh Start for 2023

In 2023 try to rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray often. God will listen, if you only speak. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path and pray that they will find guidance. Search for yourself, be yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you. Life can be so unfair and heartbreaking at times. But life can be good too. I hope and pray that 2023 will be a good one for all of you. Friends come and go, but the real ones stay around or are part of your life when you really need them. Nurture the good ones. Being a person that's kind, caring and loving really matters in life. When in doubt or afraid, just take one day at a time and try to live in and for the present moment, one step at a time. Life can be very short. Love and care as much as you can, for the time allotted to you is never known. It's okay not to feel okay but it is always okay to ask for help or support. In 2023 go after your dreams at all times when you can, especially if it involves genuine love and care. Try to do and be what you love. Be aware and work on your problems if you have them and always look for a good and speedy resolution for them. Always keep trying and moving forward. Always consider the power of your words carefully as they can hurt for real. Look at things from every angle before you make a decision or a statement for they too can hurt. Always pray for others intentions and if you're like me, always light a candle for someone. Live for today and the present moment as it is special and real, for tomorrow might never come. Make every one of your days here on earth count for the good of yourself and for others. Choosing life and love for something can be lost and gained in living life every day. Go to your doctor for checkups and look after your health, no one else will. Help your friends and your work colleagues always or as much as you can for they are central to your life. Don't worry about what people think of you. Love you and then you will be able to love others. If you want something, ask for it because if you don't, the answer will always be no. Don't judge others or compare yourself to others, work hard at being you. Reflect on your life. Wake up, get up, clean up and show up in everything in life and make the most of it as much as you can. Never give up or give in and always give it, especially in life, your best shot. Don't put pressure on yourself. It's okay to say no. Dwell, pray, breathe and listen to music. Enjoy nature and the fresh air as much as you can. Walk or run or do both. Be active physically, mentally and spiritually if you can. Life can surprise you. Meditate and keep the Serenity prayer always close by so that you can have the courage and the wisdom to be the person you want and can be. Always, as much as possible, express your thanks and gratitude to people who have helped you along life's way. To forgive or not to forgive is one of our life choices, I think from my experience in life it is always more freeing to forgive. Don't give part time people in your life a full time position in your head. Don't spend time hating or being envious. Try to always look on the good and bright side of life. Take chances in a good sense. Always remember that no matter what you do in life, there is no greater thing that you can do than to love someone or care for someone or be there for someone. Be that someone, for that is what life is really all about at the end of the day! Real genuine love is and will always be the answer to this life.

Nurturing Good

Nature is not for us, it is a part of us. It is part of our worldly family. Children are the seeds of our future. In 2023 plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow. Avoid hurting the hearts of others, especially those of children. The poison of your pain will return to you. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one's will within this world. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first. Respect others beliefs. Do not force your beliefs on others. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity. Nurture always what is good and true. Take care of your spiritual life, your relationship with God, because this is the backbone of everything we do and everything we are. Take care of your family life, giving your children and loved ones not just money, but most of all your time, attention and love. Take care of your relationships with others, transforming your faith into life and your words into good works, especially on behalf of the needy. Be careful how you speak, purify your tongue of offensive words, vulgarity and worldly decadence. Heal wounds of the heart with the oil of forgiveness, forgiving those who have hurt us and medicating the wounds we have caused others. Look after your work, doing it with enthusiasm, humility, competence, passion and with a spirit that knows how to thank the Lord. Be careful of envy, lust, hatred and negative feelings that devour our interior peace and transform us into destroyed and destructive people. Watch out for anger that can lead to vengeance; for laziness that leads to existential euthanasia; for pointing the finger at others, which leads to pride; and for complaining continually, which leads to desperation. Take care of brothers and sisters who are weaker, especially the elderly, the sick, the hungry, the homeless and strangers, because we will be judged on this.

Love deeply in 2023

Loving and living deeply from the heart is not easy. It takes work. Very hard work. It demands self-sacrifice, a generous spirit, great tenderness and goodness and an expansive embrace. It implies the risk of loving and living without barriers and obstacles. It suggests walking in someone else's shoes, leaving behind one's own baggage that makes the walk heavier, and letting go of old habits that become burdens on the journey. It is to speak and act with mercy and compassion. Loving and living deeply from the heart is intentional. It does not happen accidentally. It happens because we decide to live that way. We love in spite of us, even if it hurts. It means going beyond what holds us back, beyond what bothers you about another person and looking for the good in them. Loving and living deeply from the heart is about forgiveness and mercy - forgiving previous generations for their actions. And in the case of some of the most difficult and painful situations, loving deeply from the heart also means praying: God forgives us, even though we know what we do have mercy on us. Deep-hearted love does not just contemplate the wrongs that have been done or the mistakes that have been made; it also calls us to active repentance and mercy. It says, "Don't just sit there feeling bad; do something to make it better. It gets beyond that which keeps us stuck in the past and prevents us from moving into the future. At the centre of it all, deep hearted love and life is a call to conversion and, if we're honest with ourselves, most of us need this wake-up call to conversion. Maybe loving deeply from the heart should be part of everyone's New Year's resolutions for 2023. Our families, our friends, our work colleagues, our towns, our cities, our country and our world needs it.  

As a final thought and for the New Year, don't ever forget for even a second how very important and how very special each and every one of us Are. Here is a story to finish this thought from my Nana Scully's prayer book about a person asking God what he would wish for each one of us for the new year. "As God, what would you ask your children to do for the new year?" He said, "To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practising forgiveness. To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings. To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them. To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear, to achieve. To learn that true friends are scarce; he/she who has found one has found a true treasure. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they forgive themselves. To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say. To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues; if they plant love they will harvest happiness. To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals, but to learn to be satisfied with what they already achieved. To learn that happiness is a decision. They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different. To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life. To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain. To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever. To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings, it loses value when it is overstated. To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love them; I simply do. To learn that the shortest distance they could be from Me is the distance of a prayer." God bless and Happy New Year to each and everyone of you that reads or shares my column and may the future be bright and safe for you and all your family, friends and colleagues. Please try to love deeply from your heart in 2023 for the good of everyone, especially those most in need in our communities and the world. So in these first days of 2023 keep in mind those 18th century words: “I shall pass through this world but once. Therefore any kind act that I can perform for any fellow-creature, let me do it now. For I shall not pass this way again.” ‘Le Cúnamh Dé’, may 2023 be a good year in our lives. The blessings of God and a happy New Year to one and all.