As another year draws to an end, let us pause before the manger and express our gratitude to God for all the signs of his generosity in our life and our history, seen in countless ways through the witness of those people who quietly took a risk. A gratitude that is no sterile nostalgia or empty recollection of an idealized and disembodied past, but a living memory, one that helps to generate personal and communal creativity because we know that God is with us. God is with us. Today the Word of God introduces us in a special way, to the meaning of time, to understand that time is not a reality extrinsic to God, simply because he chose to reveal himself and to save us in history. The meaning of time, temporality, is the atmosphere of God’s epiphany, namely, of the manifestation of God’s mystery and of his concrete love.
—from the book The Peace of Christmas: Quiet Reflections from Pope Francis
by Diane M. Houdek
2 thoughts on “Another Year Ends”
Speaking of time, was also have sin. There are two aspects to sin, one is spiritual, the other is temporal. Everyone wants to talk about the spiritual aspect of sin, but few want to talk about the temporal consequences of sin. Or as St. Pope John Paul II once said, “God always forgives, nature almost never.” So, if sin is so destructive why do people continue to eat from the tree of knowledge? How can people be so stupid? There is also the tree of life. What is that one may ask? Well, are you interested in the truth? Those of us who are Catholic, know that the church has the answers if you want them. So, Jesus taught us how to live. He also wants us to know Him. But that is for us to choose. Do you love God? Really? So, why does time matter? Because we are all living in this period of time in relation to the God who has made us. No one comes from a vacuum. There was a beginning, and there shall be an ending. But don’t worry, God knows what needs to be known for each of us. Do you love Him? Remember, the purpose of life is: “To know, love, and serve the Lord.” So, rather than asking “Why am I here?”, instead say, “I am here.” And then make the best of a bad situation, that is, a world full of sin. God cares. That’s why he was born, but also because you exist too. We all started off innocent, never mind original sin. And then what happened, you may ask? Yes, yes, then what happened?
In that first sentence above, that should be “we” not “was.” Sorry for not catching that sooner. To err is human, right?