New Year message

Bye to Past and Welcome the Future…

Introduction

- One of the oldest holiday or holy day we know in the history of the human race is New Year. The earliest records we have are five thousand years ago. At one point the ancient Romans celebrated New Year’s by breaking branches off of what they considered sacred trees and giving branches to one another in exchange for “Happy New Year.” A little later, they began to exchange coins. These coins had the face of the god Janus on them. Janus is where we get the word “January.”

- The one special thing about the god Janus is he is two-faced. He has a face looking at the past and a face looking at the future. That is why the god Janus became the symbol of New Year where, just as we are tonight, we look at the past and at the same time, we look to the future.

Content

- It is the time to look at the past and to the future, to the year 2011 and to the year 2012.

- How to look at the passing year 2011? We should have three attitudes towards the year 2011;

1. Gratitude

§ Giving thanks to God for all the blessings, whether it is big or small, that is received in our lives. It may be a new relationship, or a new house, or a new car, or a new born baby etc.

§ With Psalmist let us pray (Psalm 95:1-6) - "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

2. Patience

§ In the past year there are lot of things that happened on which we still ponder on. We still ask the question “why it happened in my life?”. It is because the plan of God is slowly unfolding. It takes to time for us to understand in its fullness. Therefore what we have to do is to wait patiently.

§ The example for such waiting is Mary. When she heard the things that were said by the shepherds and the magi about her child she could not grasp it fully. (Lk 2:19) “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart”.

3. Forgiveness

§ There may be many mistakes that we commited during the past year. It may be intentional or blunders. It might has caused lot of damages in our life. It can be sins that caused others to suffer.

§ We may not be able to do anything with the past mistakes of ours, except forgive. Let us forgive ourselves. If the mistakes are grave and sinful, let us confess in the sacrament of reconciliation and get the pardon of the Lord.

- How to welcome the New Year 2012?

1. Hope

§ Hope guides us to a bright future, hope that everything will be fine in the New Year.

§ Let those who suffer from sickness may think they will healed in this year, those who suffer from broken relation hope that it will solved in this year, those who have low grades in their studies hope that they will compensate in this New Year…

§ Hope should follow decisions and resolutions. Let us take firm decisions for our life for the betterment and growth.

2. Prayer

§ If we travel with God we would see the difference.

§ Hold the hand of the divine and walk into the New Year.

§ Pray every day so that whenever we feel we are week, we receive the strong support of the divine.

§ Ask the prayers of others, because the intercessions are ways to God’s blessings.

§ Receive sacraments often, because they are the source of grace of God.

Conclusion

- Let gratitude, patience and forgiveness be our guiding stones to think of the past.

- Let hope and prayer be our light for the future.

- Wish you all a blessed and prosperous new year 2012.