Worried about the future? (And I don’t mean how you’re going to follow through on that resolution to complete a triathlon made in front of all your co-workers after your third spiked Egg Nog.)
Though every New Year is really nothing more than the turn of a calendar page, it’s natural to have a bit of excitement tinged with apprehension at the thought of what lies ahead.
But before you allow any alarm to creep into your Christmas after-glow, hearken back to the words of St. John Paul II. In his Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Inuente at the turn of the millennium, he provides the key to a life free of fear.
And, of course, it centers around prayer.
The Holy Father encourages us to “abide in Christ,” because this is the “very substance and soul of the Christian life.” How do we do that? We’ve got to learn the “Trinitarian shape of Christian prayer,” especially in the liturgy. This, he says, “is the secret of a truly vital Christianity, which has no reason to fear the future, because it returns continually to the sources and finds in them new life” (italics mine).
In other words, if you’re living a sacramental life saturated by prayer, seeking the face of the Father and his perfect will, why worry?
So while the new year naturally brings the future and all its unknowns to the forefront of our imagination, don’t forget that every day of this life is simply one step closer to God. That’s the real reason for it to be a “Happy” New Year. God bless you!
Matt
