Hope in the New Year

With each new year come new hopes, new plans, and new
opportunities. Fr. Mike points out that this optimism and this
“spirit” of New Year’s is a great inspiration of hope for the
interior life of the Christian. For each of us, last year probably
had a fair mix of “wins” and “losses” – of joy and suffering. Fr.
Mike zeroes in on what was probably the worst evil and the greatest
suffering you encountered last year – sin. Sin can lead to
discouragement and embarrassment, and those demons can keep us from
moving forward in hope. Maybe you’ve been wrestling with the same
sin for a long time, or maybe you don’t want to go to the same
priest about the same sin again and again. Maybe you feel like
giving up. But we can have hope – “trust in another extended into
the future” – in Jesus and in the sacrament of confession. As Fr.
Mike’s friend Nick says, “If you fall, fall into the confessional.”
Discouragement and embarrassment have no place in the life of the
Christian. They keep us in the past, while their converses – hope
and humility – keep us moving forward. This year is going to have
its ups and downs, and we know we can’t trust in ourselves. But we
can trust in Him in whom we place our hope. Happy New Year!