In the past ten days we have celebrated Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Family, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God on New Year’s Day, and today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.  The birth of Jesus focuses our attention on his presence in our midst in so many ways.  He came into our world as every other human being, he was born of a woman.  In the third preface for Christmas we hear the proclamation: “Today in him a new light has dawned upon the world: God has become one with us and we have become one again with God.”  The birth of every human being brings light and makes our world and our lives brighter with human goodness and love.  Today we celebrate that the Magi followed the light of a star that led them to the newborn Jesus.  When they reached the place of his presence they bowed down in reverence and offered their gifts.  What a sacred moment for them.  Because of their response to the inner voice to follow that star they encountered the God who created the stars and all creation in the innocent, precious Christ child.

Our world today certainly needs the light of Jesus.  More and more we become paralyzed with fear from terrorism.  Radical people in our world are seeking to cause death and destruction.  Sadly they live in darkness and seek to bring that darkness into our lives.  The state of the economy seems to be getting better, but there are still many people unemployed.  Thanks to the presence of the light of Jesus in our lives, we at St. Patrick’s parish brightened the Christmas of so many who are struggling financially at this time.  Not only do we bring this light at Christmas, all year long you the people of our parish bring gold, frankincense and myrrh in the form of food, drink and monetary donations to our Outreach Office.  Our world sends confusing and conflicting messages to our young people about what is important in life.  Thanks to the goodness of so many in our parish these young people who are the future of the church, our country and our world are given the light of the Good News of Jesus through our parish school and parish religious education program.  The concern for our young people is also seen in the vast number of people who volunteer in our various sports programs run through our Youth Ministry Office.  Through them we also have an evening for high school students to help them reflect on what it means to live as a Catholic in today’s society.  There are countless examples in the more than 5,800 registered families in our parish of goodness, love and concern that bring the light of Jesus’ love and compassion to our families, friends, community and nation.

As we begin the new year we can look and see what is missing and what we can do about it.  In the book I am now reading, I was struck by this brief, but powerful explanation of the first beatitude: Blessed are the poor in Spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs.  In his book, The Wisdom of Tenderness, Brennan Manning says: “Those rich in spirit devote considerable time to thinking about what they don’t have; the poor get right down to enjoying and celebrating what they do have.”  When we stop and think about it, we have so many blessings in our lives, beginning with the gift of life itself.  Because we are alive we know the power of love, goodness, compassion, forgiveness and patience.  It is easy to bemoan where we are hurt, feel slighted, unwelcome and treated unjustly.  It is just as easy to look at the good we have in our lives.  Each day I begin night prayer from my breviary by first examining my conscience.   I start that process by calling to mind five good things that happened in my life that day.  After giving thanks I then look at where I have failed and need forgiveness.  Each day and each person in our lives is a gift.  No day and no person is absolutely perfect.  We experience glimpses of perfection and they are signs of the joy we will know for all eternity in God’s presence.  That does not mean we do not strive for the best we can be for one another and God.  Brennan Manning in the same chapter quoted above says: “If we presume that life owes us the best -and nothing but the best- then reality rarely lives up to our expectations.”

We have begun a new year after just celebrating the “new light that has dawned upon the world” in Jesus.  Gratitude that is founded on humility leads us to see this light in ourselves and others and to share that light with all people.  Each person, like you and I, is a beloved child of God.  They are God’s gift to us and an opportunity to live up to his faith in us to love them.  If we can look at what we have and give thanks rather than looking at what we don’t have and complain, we will have a truly Happy New Year!.

Father Walden