IT’S A NEW YEAR SO LET’S START THINGS OFF RIGHT
Revelation 19:16
Brothers and Sisters,
Next weekend we begin the new year! May I be the first to wish you a happy new (Church / Liturgical) year? Happy new year to you and yours!
There’s so much that we could say to be sure that all of us get the new Church year going as best as we can. I have thought it through and here are my suggestions to be sure that we can all do very well in the Holy Faith throughout the new Liturgical year that will begin with the First Sunday of Advent next weekend.
- Remember to genuflect and bow: when we come into the Church or leave the Church, be sure to lower your right knee to the ground facing the Tabernacle.  Christ is God and He is present in there; let’s be sure that we teach ourselves by this simple action to recognize Him as the one in charge and not ourselves; similarly, when we come to receive Eucharist is Mass, let’s remind ourselves to bow to the Eucharist and also to step aside after receiving the Blessed Sacrament and make the Sign of the Cross as we consume it.
- Pray at Spare Moments: all of us – myself, of course, included – occupy ourselves from by turning on the radio in the car, mindlessly scrolling through something on our mobile phones, or even by simply looking for something to do in our spare moments; every time we get in the car or have a simple moment without an immediate task, we can what amounts to a small number of seconds to say the 1) Our Father, 2) Hail Mary, and 3) Glory Be. Saying these three prayers (or others) as we get in the car or walk to our next class, or even just as we have a moment between tasks can both sanctify our days and lives as well as remind us the Christ is with us throughout the day.
- Pray at Specific Events: when you get out of bed in the morning, when you eat, when you’re about to start the next class, when you’re switching tasks, when you have others to your home, and when you are going to bed – and many more. Make prayer part of everything you do such that it would feel weird to not pray throughout the day
- Go to Confession: not only is Advent a time that calls all of us to go to Confession before Christmas but it is a great time to commit ourselves to going regularly to Confession – not just once in a while. Christ gave us this sacrament of healing for our own good and it is tragic that most of us rarely use the opportunity to receive forgiveness of our sins.
Again, that’s just a start. Think of next weekend as a holy new year – one that inspires us to make resolutions; this is not just a fun thing to do (although it certainly can be a fun thing to set these goals) but it is even more inspiring that our acting on our faith has eternal consequences.
God be near,
Father Jeremy
Pastor
