Growing up at the start of the Golden Age of Television, I enjoyed watching inspirational Christmas movies, which provided some of my fondest Christmas memories. I’m certain many of you have already seen these movies, but I know I can watch them over and over again and never tire of them. If there is a Christmas spirit, I believe the Christmas spirit is joy. Here are just a few of my favorite Christmas films that bring me joy and help me prepare for Christmas.
It’s a Wonderful Life: This film takes places in a fictional idyllic town in upstate New York. The main character is a young family man, George Bailey, who grew up with a sense of adventure, but, because of life’s circumstances, he was never able to go beyond the confines of his hometown. The story follows his life up to the end of World War II as the town awaits the arrival of the man’s younger brother, a hero Naval Aviator. During the week before Christmas, everything goes bust, and George Bailey makes a wish; he wishes he was never born. The wish is fulfilled; Clarence, a clumsy angel, is sent from heaven to guide George through the results of his wish. I’ll stop there. See the movie; it’s uplifting. Liberty Films produced this film in 1946. It stars James Stewart and Donna Reed and was directed by Frank Capra.
A Christmas Carol: This film is based on the iconic Christmas story written by Charles Dickens about Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer is an old man whose life went in a way he never anticipated. Because of some of his decisions, he led a very unhappy existence. One Christmas Eve, he is visited by his deceased business partner who tells him that he will be visited by three more spirits that night. He is visited by the three iconic ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. These visitations change Ebenezer forever. If you watch this film, I recommend two versions: the black-and-white 1938 MGM film starring Reginald Owen and the 1984 British-American color version starring George C. Scott.
Miracle on 34th Street: This is an American film classic that centers on the Christmas question: is there really a Santa Claus? I know it’s not exactly a religious-themed film, but the story is tremendously heartwarming and uplifting. If you like a New York story with the background of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, you’re going to love this one. Twentieth Century Fox produced this film in 1947 just after World War II. The film stars Maureen O’Hara and John Payne.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: This animated classic was produced in 1965 for CBS Television. The film was written by Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts crew. In the story, Charlie Brown becomes more and more distressed with the commercialization of Christmas and takes hold of an opportunity to do something about it. Charlie’s friend Linus is helpful in bringing out the true meaning of Christmas. It’s a great show for the kids and those who are kids at heart.
The Nativity Story: This is a 2006 Warner Brothers production that follows the biblical story of the birth of Jesus. It’s not a film I’d recommend for very young viewers, but I think it’s suitable for teenagers. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary and Oscar Isaac as Joseph.
No matter how you prepare for Christmas it is my hope that your preparations bring you joy.
The last time I wrote, I presented a list of five saints from New York. Today, I am writing about those New Yorkers who are “waiting in the wings.” There are four steps to canonization in the Catholic Church (in ascending order): Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. Here is a list of New Yorkers in each of the first three categories:
Blessed Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap., (1870-1957) was a Capuchin priest who spent years serving at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Yonkers. Blessed Solanus is buried at the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit where he died.
Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853) was a prominent New York, Black businessman of the 19th century. His remains were moved from the cemetery at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral and are now entombed in the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Venerable Fr. Felix Varela (1788-1853) was born in Cuba and advocated for Latin American independence. He was the former Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York. He is buried in Saint Augustine, Florida.
Servant of God Fr. Isaac Hecker, C.S.P., (1819-1888), a convert to Catholicism, is the founder of the Paulist Fathers (1858). His tomb is in St. Paul’s Church on the Westside of Manhattan. By the way, if you are a baker, his family started the Heckers Flour Company.
Servant of God Mother Mary Alphonsa, O.P., (1851-1925), daughter of the famous American author, Nathanial Hawthorne, is the founder of the Hawthorne Dominican Sisters. In June 1901, Mother Alphonsa opened Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York (Westchester County), for cancer patients. The Dominican Sisters continue to operate a hospice at Rosary Hill. Mother Alphonsa is buried in the sisters’ cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.
Servant of God Fr. Paul Wattson, S.A., (1863-1940), in 1889, with Mother Lurana White (1870-1935), founded the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement (Graymoor) in the Episcopal Church. On September 30, 1909, Pope Pius X received the entire order, sisters and friars, into the Catholic Church. Fr. Paul is buried in a beautiful shrine at Graymoor in Garrison, New York.
When the Servant of God Fr. Paul was ordained as a Catholic priest in the Rector’s Chapel of St. Joseph’s Seminary (June 16, 1910), Blessed Solanus Casey delivered the homily.
Venerable Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, O. Carm., (1893-1984) was born in Ireland and is the founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm in New York. Mother is buried in her community’s cemetery in Germantown, New York.
Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) was an Auxiliary Bishop of New York and the former Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester. He was entombed in the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral but was recently removed to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, the diocese in which he was born.
Servant of God Dorothy Day (1897-1980), a convert to Catholicism, is the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. Her Catholic Worker Movement is still headquartered where Dorothy started at 36 1st Street, New York City. She maintained a modest home on Staten Island. The Catholic Worker continues to publish a newspaper which is sold for “one cent” a copy. Dorothy is buried in Resurrection Cemetery on Staten Island.
Servant of God Terence Cardinal Cooke (1921-1983) was the Cardinal Archbishop of New York (1968-1983). He was born and raised in the Throggs Neck Section of the Northeast Bronx. As a child and young man, he was a parishioner of St. Benedict’s in the Bronx, just off Bruckner Boulevard. He was taught by the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, New York. He is entombed in the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno, M.M., (1929-1967) was a Maryknoll Missionary and U.S. Navy Chaplain. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (our nation’s highest military honor) for his bravery in aiding wounded and dying Marines on the battlefields of Vietnam. He was born and raised on Staten Island. He is buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery on Staten Island.
I encourage you to read about these New Yorkers; their stories are inspirational. Saints are all around us: those who have gone on to their heavenly reward and those who continue to do God’s will among us on earth. Let us never lose sight of them. We are all called to holiness; we are all called to be saints.
When I was a child growing up in the Bronx, the thought of getting anywhere near the home of a saint conjured up images of a long trip to Europe or the Holy Land. In my mind, there were “no saints around here.” Was I ever wrong. Just in New York State, and in New York City in particular, there are saints and those on their way to sainthood.
In the State of New York, among the first to receive the crown of sainthood was the Jesuit missionary, St. Isaac Jogues, S.J. (1607 - 1646). St. Isaac was a French Jesuit who came to upstate New York to work among the native tribes. He was martyred in 1646 and was canonized in 1930. If you wish to walk where St. Isaac walked, visit the Jesuit Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York, just west of Albany. The shrine is the site of the New York State Eucharistic Congress from October 20-22, 2023.
The second saint from New York is St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 - 1680). Kateri is known as “The Lily of the Mohawk.” St. Kateri was a native American who lived in upstate New York and southern Ontario, Canada. Kateri was catechized by the French Jesuit missionaries, the North American Martyrs. She grew in faith and holiness. She died in 1680 at the age of 24 and was canonized in 2012.
The third saint from New York is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, S.C. (1774 - 1821). Elizabeth was the wife of a wealthy merchant in New York City. Her father, Dr. Richard Bailey, was the first public health doctor of the City of New York. Elizabeth was raised as an Episcopalian; she converted after the death of her husband. She founded the Sisters of Charity, a teaching order of sisters. St. Elizabeth died in 1821 and was canonized in 1975. If you wish to walk where she walked, you can visit her shrine at 7 State Street in lower Manhattan.
The fourth New York saint is St. John Neumann, C.Ss.R. (1811 - 1860). St. John was born in Bohemia in 1811 and immigrated to New York in May 1836. In June of that year, he was ordained a priest in the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral at 263 Mulberry Street, New York City by the third bishop of New York, Bishop John Dubois. In January 1842, he entered the Redemptorist Order. St. John eventual rose in the ranks of the Church to be the Bishop of Philadelphia. He died in 1870 and was canonized 1977. Take a trip to Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral and walk where St. John walked. He is buried in his shrine in Philadelphia.
The fifth saint from New York is an Italian immigrant, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, M.S.C. (1850 - 1917). St. Frances grew up with a strong desire to be a missionary to Asia; she wanted to go to China as did her namesake, St. Francis Xavier. God had other plans in mind for her. When she asked Pope Leo XIII for permission to travel with her newly founded order to the Far East, he told her: “Not to the East but to the West.” Pope Leo XIII sent Mother Cabrini to New York and beyond to work with the thousands of Italian immigrants arriving in America. Mother Cabrini founded schools, homes, and hospitals throughout the United State and South America. She died in 1917 and was canonized in 1946. Her relics may be viewed at her shrine in northern Manhattan at 701 Fort Washington Avenue.
There are four steps to canonization in the Catholic Church (in ascending order): Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. My next article will be about those New Yorkers “waiting in the wings.”
From 1959 to 1975, the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard) were engaged in an armed conflict in the divided Southeast Asian country of Vietnam. Those 16 years of conflict resulted in the loss of 58,318 American lives. The war in Vietnam was perhaps the most divisive conflict in which America has ever been engaged. The conflict divided the country and resulted in antiwar demonstrations all over America. Perhaps the largest of the antiwar demonstrations took place in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Other demonstrations followed. Among the most tragic was the student demonstration at Kent State University in May of 1970 where the Ohio National Guard fired on antiwar demonstrators, wounding four and killing four.
Despite the division at home, the men and women of the Armed Forces continued to fight bravely in the heat, rain, and stifling jungles of Vietnam. There was no glory for them. When they came home, there were no parades, no honors assemblies; many came home to scorn and even hatred.
On November 13, 1982, the United States dedicated a memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam conflict. A below grade, V-shaped wall consisting of 72 black granite panels was built on the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was designed by a young Chinese-American architect, Maya Lin. Ms. Lin, born in Athens, Ohio, was only 24 years old. Engraved on panels of “The Wall” are the names of each of the 58,318 Americans who died in the conflict. The memorial was opened with controversy. People objected to the fact that it was below grade (in a hole) and that the designer was of Asian parentage. I had the privilege of visiting “The Wall” in 1982, soon after it was dedicated. I visited with a degree of apprehension. I was escorting several high school juniors and seniors from Mount St. Michael Academy. I had no idea how they would react. Would they be as respectful of the memorial as I prayed they would be? As we descended along the wall to its center, the boys and I became silent. The solemnity of the place was palpable. The boys and I were overcome by the very image of the wall. Looking at the names, you can see your reflection in the polished granite. It was then that I vowed to visit “The Wall” every time I had the opportunity. I have been there many times since 1982, and each time I have a similar reaction; I call it “survivor’s remorse.” Most of the names on that wall were my contemporaries. Whether it was luck or fate or blessing, my name is not there when it easily could have been.
Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit “The Wall” again. This time, five of my classmates from Xavier High School, Class of 1967, and I volunteered, through a program run by the National Park Service, to wash the wall. It seems like a simple task, but I found it most profound. Before the washing began at 6:30 AM, we located the names of people we knew. We found the name of Alonzo R. Toal on Panel 33 East, Line 60. Major Toal, U.S. Army, was killed in action on January 6, 1968. From September 1966 to June 1967, he had been our Professor of Military Science at Xavier. We left a Xavier hat near his name as a memorial.
As I washed the wall, I prayed for each of the 58,318 children of God whose names are there. They made the ultimate sacrifice. No matter what you thought about the conflict in Vietnam, these men and women should never be forgotten. May they rest in peace eternal.
Fifty years ago, in the Archdiocese of New York, the first group of men were ordained to the then recently restored permanent order of deacon. During the Second Vatican Council, the Council Fathers completed an effort, one that began as early as the Council of Trent, to restore the diaconate as a permanent order in the Roman (Latin) Rite of the Catholic Church. For nearly 1,000 years, the diaconate in the Roman Rite had been relegated to a step for men on the way to ordination as priests, what we currently refer to as the transitional diaconate (a year as a deacon before ordination to the priesthood). Deacons, permanent or transitional, are ordained ministers, members of the clergy.
In the Christian churches in the East, both Orthodox and those in union with the Holy Father in Rome, the diaconate remained a permanent order from the start. Although we refer to deacons ordained without anticipation of ordination to the priesthood as “permanent deacons,” it is the diaconate that is permanent not the deacon. A deacon is a deacon.
The diaconate has its roots in the earliest days of the Church. We read in Chapter 6 of The Acts of the Apostles that the Apostles in Jerusalem asked that seven men be chosen from among the disciples to address a particular problem. The problem was the distribution of food and necessities to the Greek-speaking widows of the Jerusalem church community. We need only look at the names of these first seven deacons to understand that they were Greek (Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas). After they were selected by the community, the Apostles authorized them to act on behalf of the Church by praying over them and laying hands on them; in the current parlance, they were ordained. Then, as now, deacons are ordained ministers of the Church authorized to serve the needs of the people of God.
It was very soon after their selection and ordination that the role of these seven deacons broadened. Among those first deacons, Stephen met his martyrdom at the hands of an angry crowd who did not accept his preaching about Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. Philip was responsible for instructing an Ethiopian official in the faith and ultimately baptizing him, bringing Christianity to Africa.
Deacons today come from various backgrounds. Most start off as a member of a parish, attending Mass on Sundays or more often. Many are married men with families, experiencing the same joys and sorrows as the people to whom they minister. They are office workers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, and laborers, seemingly ordinary men called by God to do extraordinary things.
In 2013, Cardinal Dolan asked me to become the Director of Diaconate Formation for the Archdiocese of New York. I accepted, recognizing the enormity of the position. As I met with the men in formation, it became clear to me that many of them described deacons by telling people what deacons can’t do. I believe that no one should ever define their role by what they can’t do. Yes, deacons cannot say Mass (although they do assist the celebrant), and deacons cannot administer the sacraments of Penance, Anointing of the Sick, or Holy Orders. What, then, do the deacons do?
The Basic Norms for the Formation of the Permanent Diaconate states:
“[…] strengthened by sacramental grace, [deacons] are dedicated to the People of God […] in the service (diakonia) of the liturgy, of the Gospel, and of works of charity. The deacon is called to proclaim the Scriptures and instruct and exhort the people. This finds expression in the presentation of the Book of the Gospels, foreseen in the Rite of Ordination itself […] The deacon is called to the solemn administration of baptism, the custody and distribution of the Eucharist, assisting at and blessing marriages, in presiding at the rites of funerals and burials and the administration of sacramentals […] Finally, the deacon is called to dedication to works of charity and assistance and in the direction of communities or sectors of Church life.”
This is who the deacons are. This is what the deacons are called to be and to do.
“Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
- From the Rite of Ordination of the Deacon
Happy Mother’s Day.
When I started to write this column, I intended to write something about Mother’s Day, but, as chance would have it, my thoughts were driven elsewhere. Two Saturdays ago, after assisting Fr. Dinesh at the 4 PM Mass at Assumption Church, I got in my car to drive home. I turned on the radio to WNYC/Public Radio and heard a report on the “christening” of the newest Staten Island Ferry, the Ferry Boat Dorothy Day. What the news broadcast failed to mention was any connection to Dorothy Day’s Catholic faith and her deep commitment to the poor. It portrayed her as any other social activist.
The naming of a ferry boat is a great honor for a wonderful Catholic hero. Dorothy Day (1897 – 1980) was a convert to Roman Catholicism. She came to Catholicism after several years of living a rather infamous bohemian life. In Catholicism, she found something different and wonderful: she found a deep abiding love for Jesus, and, in that love of Jesus, she found a love for the poor. Upon her conversion, she founded the Catholic Worker Movement, an organization that continues to advocate for social justice. Together with her friend, Peter Maurin, she opened soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless, the poor, and the outcast. She published a newspaper, The Catholic Worker, which is still being published today and still costs only two cents. She and Peter established farms where food for the poor could be grown and distributed. Her legacy of radical faith lives on to this day as members of the Catholic Worker Movement continue to provide for the poor and advocate for equality and justice. Today, within the Church, there is an active cause for her canonization to Sainthood. It is clear that every action taken by Dorothy Day was informed and guided by her deep faith in Jesus and in His Church. That part of her life seldom, if ever, makes it into the secular newspaper, television, or radio stories about her. Although she often protested that she was not a saint, her official title in the Church today is Servant of God, the first step to Sainthood. Perhaps, someday, it will be Saint Dorothy Day.
The fact that last Saturday’s broadcast failed to mention Dorothy Day as a woman of faith is hardly surprising. I sometimes believe that the media today, both broadcast and print, are embarrassed by the mention of the part that religious faith plays in anything done by today’s true champions.
Dorothy Day was not simply a social worker. Dorothy Day, as a follower of the Gospel, saw injustice and inequity through the lens of her Christian faith, though the eyes of Christ. We must never forget that those motivated by their Christian faith are those who truly have the power of the Holy Spirit to set the world on fire.
On the island of Sicily, in the Province of Messina, high in the Nebrodi mountains, sits the town of San Fratello. The town is noted for its special breed of horses and the Gallo-Italic language spoken by its inhabitants. Although the name of the town is derived from three Greek brother saints - Alfio, Cirino, and Filadelfo - the patron saint of the town is quite different. The patron saint of the town is Saint Benedict the Moor, often called Saint Benedict the Black.
Benedict was born in San Fratello in 1526, the son of African slaves Christoforo and Diana Manasseri. Like many slaves in history, they took the surname from their owners, the Manasseri family. When Diana became pregnant with her first child, the Manasseri family promised her that her child would be born free.
Born free, Benedict first worked as a shepherd. Although poor and illiterate, he became renowned for his deep religious faith and charity. Having suffered racial prejudice at the age of twenty-one, Benedict and his forbearance were noted by Jerome Lanze, the leader of an independent group of Franciscan hermits on nearby Monte Pellegrino, who invited him to join their company. The hermits followed the rule written by St. Francis of Assisi. Benedict quickly vowed poverty, gave up all his meager earthly possessions, and joined the group of hermits. By the age of twenty-eight, Benedict became the leader of the community.
In 1564, Pope Pius IV disbanded independent communities of hermits and ordered them to attach themselves to an established religious order. Benedict and his company of hermits joined the Order of Friars Minor - the Franciscans. Benedict was sent to the Friary of St. Mary of Jesus in Palermo, where he served as a cook. Although Benedict was illiterate and only a lay brother, he was soon appointed master of novices and, eventually, guardian of the community. He was noted for his great spiritual life. Charity became his hallmark. He had a reputation as a healer of the sick. Toward the end of his life, in humility, he returned to his duties in the friary kitchen as the community cook.
Benedict died on April 4, 1589, at the age of sixty-five. Upon his death, King Philip III of Spain ordered the construction of a magnificent tomb to house his remains in the friary church. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 and canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807. Upon its exhumation, his body was found incorrupt.
Saint Benedict, along with the Dominican lay brother Saint Martin de Porres, were declared the patron saints of African Americans. He is co-patron of Palermo with Saint Rosalia. He is also venerated by the faithful in several countries of Central and South America. A statue of St. Benedict the Moor was recently unveiled at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street, New York City. His feast day is April 4.
As the grandson of immigrants from San Fratello, I’m proud to carry “Benedict” as my middle name.
I remember when I was approaching my 40th birthday, people chided me about how I was now facing the downhill slide. For some reason, 40 was a number that indicated that “the end was near.” Now, I’m well beyond my 40th birthday, and I’m still here. Maybe life begins at 40?
So, what’s up with the number 40? They say the number 40 is mentioned 146 times in Sacred Scripture. I confess I didn’t actually count it; I’m relying on some experts. Here are just a few of those 146.
God flooded the earth by having it rain for 40 days and nights. After the patriarch Jacob (Israel) died in Egypt, the Egyptians spent 40 days embalming his body.
In Scripture, the number 40 is often associated with a period of testing or trial. Moses lived for 40 years in Egypt and for 40 years wandering in the desert. On two occasions, Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai receiving the Law. Moses dispatched spies for 40 days to survey the Promised Land.
The prophet Jonah spent 40 days in the belly of the “whale” before spending 40 days warning the people of Nineveh that the city would be destroyed because of their sins. The prophet Ezekiel laid on his side for 40 days to symbolize the sins of Judah. Elijah spent 40 days without food or water on Mount Horeb.
Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the desert, fasting in preparation for His public ministry. Jesus appeared to His disciples and others for 40 days after His resurrection. There are 40 days from the Resurrection to the Ascension.
Just days before His crucifixion, Jesus prophesied the total destruction of Jerusalem. Forty years after His crucifixion, the mighty Roman Empire destroyed the city and burned its beloved temple to the ground.
On Wednesday, February 22, the Church begins the season of Lent: 40 days in preparation for the solemn feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior. How will we use these 40 days?
If you are like me, you have a pile of resolutions tucked away in your mind on how you will use the opportunity of Lent. These are many of the same stock resolutions we pull out on New Year’s Day. Some run to issues of health: lose that 20 pounds, eat better, get a full eight hours of sleep, exercise. Some run to personal life: be careful with your language, be more diligent in your prayer life, read that book that has been sitting on your nightstand since Christmas, just be nicer to people.
Is that really what the 40 days of Lent is about? Let me suggest something different: before Lent begins, spend some time alone in quiet prayer, conversing with Jesus. Use your prayerful imagination to discuss with Jesus what He would like you to do this Lent. His answer may surprise you. Lent is nearly here so you and Jesus can make a plan. How will you spend this 40-day opportunity with Jesus to prepare to celebrate His great gift of the Resurrection?
Did you ever wonder why September, October, November, and December are named for the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth ordinal Latin numbers? Did you ever wonder why February has the strange characteristic of having either 28 days or 29 days? It all has to do with the Roman celebration of the new year on the first day of March. For Romans, the year began with the rebirth of the earth in the Spring. It makes sense. Tuesday, March 1 – Happy New Year!
Have you ever heard the Celtic word Samhain (pronounced SAH-win)? It is the Irish word for the month of November. Among the pagan Celts in Ireland, the year ended on the last day of the Summer growing season, their month of Deireadh Fómhair (October), and began on the eve of the first day of Samhain (November). Tuesday, November 1 – Happy New Year!
In the Jewish calendar, the year begins on the first day of the month of Tishri – Rosh Hashanah. It usually comes in our month of September; last year it was on Monday, September 26 – Happy New Year!
The first day of the Islamic year is the first of the month of Muharram. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than our solar calendar, the first month of the Islamic calendar migrates throughout the solar years. Last year, the first day of Muharram was on Sunday, July 31 – Happy New Year!
Our year, on Catholic liturgical calendars, ends on the Saturday after the Feast of Christ the King, and begins on the First Sunday of the Season of Advent. Last year, the First Sunday of Advent was Sunday, November 27 – Happy New Year!
On this Sunday, January 1, 2023, in most western countries of the world, we celebrate the New Year: the end of the old and the beginning of the new. The names we give to the hours of the day, days of the week, and months of the year are all arbitrary. Nature sets the times, sunrise to sunrise, full moon to full moon, equinox to equinox, solstice to solstice.
We should come to live in “God time.” For God, there is no time. For God, the time is always now. As Christians, we should live in the moment, not be anxious about the past or what will be in the future. Live each moment in the present and in the presence of God.