A New Year of Mercy

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light!” (Isaiah 9:1-2)

In our house on New Year’s Eve, we invite our friends and their kids to our place for a family New Year’s celebration that usually winds up around 9:00 p.m. (New Year’s at Nine!) We have balloons and party blowers and at “midnight” we all stand on the furniture and jump into the New Year. We have found the adults savor this tradition as much as the kids. There is something refreshing about jumping in with both feet to a brand new year.

As Catholic Christians, we are reminded that we never need to turn the page on the calendar to start fresh. Each day offers the opportunity for resolutions -- to seek forgiveness and to forgive, to be kind and compassionate, to deepen our faith and renew our commitment to follow Christ’s command to “love one another.” This is what it means to live our faith in this Year of Mercy – to shine the light of God’s mercy to everyone we meet.

Blessings in the Holy Year,
Heidi

P.S. A saint for your post-Christmas budget

Elizabeth Ann Seton was born and raised in a wealthy family. After the death of her husband, Elizabeth struggled with finances. Her conversion to the Catholic faith was a call to return the profound generosity and hospitality that was shared with her. In her later years, Elizabeth Ann Seton founded a convent and started several schools and hospitals. “Mother Seton” taught us that all that we have is to be shared for the good of others. Call on Elizabeth Ann Seton for help with your budget this month. Her feast day is January 4.

The Holy Days of January

James C. Christensen, courtesy Greenwich Workshop

by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker

We celebrate three great feasts in January: The Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Conversion of St. Paul. Inherent in all of these is the idea that we first undergo a change in our lives and then we live out that change. From the Magi who left their homeland to find the Christ child to Paul, who changed from persecuting Christians to leading them, to Jesus himself who, although sinless, submitted to baptism to show us the way, the feasts of January are intended to lead us into a deeper and richer union with the Lord.

Epiphany (January 6). This day commemorates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child as recorded in Matthew 2: 1-12. These “Wise Men” saw the star and realized that they needed to find the new-born king, so they journeyed from “the East,” bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In one sense, they were the very first followers of Christ. They help us understand that we must “seek out the Lord where he may be found.”

Baptism of the Lord (January 11). We recall Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist on this feast (Matthew 3: 13-17). Although Jesus was sinless, he submitted to baptism as an example to us. We must first be converted to new life and leave behind our sinful nature before we can truly become his disciples. As the Catechism says, “through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. (CCC 537).

Conversion of St. Paul (January 25). His conversion on the road to Damascus heralded everything from a change of name to an entire change of life for Paul nee Saul. When we look for an example of what it means to be converted and then how to live out that conversion, St. Paul is a primary Activity: Forgive someone to whom you’ve held a grudge or ask forgiveness for an old hurt. God’s mercy is abundant!

One priest making a difference

Courtesy photo

by Emily Stimpson

Across the United States, dioceses are shuttering parishes as Catholics in the pews dwindle. In rural Georgia, however, thanks to the hard work of one missionary priest, the Diocese of Savannah shuttered one parish and its missions for the opposite reason; its pews were full to overflowing.

Now, with the help of the diocese and Catholic Extension, the priest, Father Fredy Angel, is building a new church that can offer parishioners from the former Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Lakeland, Georgia, a more fitting spiritual home.

Read more of Fr. Angel's story here.

Changes coming to marriage rite in the U.S.
by Barry Hudock

Shutterstock

Changes are coming soon to Catholic weddings in the United States. What you see happening when you attend one — or if you’re getting married yourself — will be a little different from what you’ve seen in the past.

The changes are courtesy of the coming implementation of the newly approved Order of Celebrating Matrimony, Second Edition, for the United States. After a nearly two-year wait, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments over the summer approved the U.S. bishops’ new English translation of the marriage rite and, though no date has been set, the changes will likely be implemented before the end of 2016.

Read the full article in the December 27, 2015, issue of OSV Newsweekly".