Auld Lang Syne

"Auld Lang Syne" is a song that is traditional to the New Year and has been sung and toasted at midnight on New Year's Eve for generations. The song began as a poem written in 1778 by Robert Burns, which he set to folk melody.

The message of "Auld Lang Syne" is that we should not forget our friends from times past, and the song sings of two old friends who haven't seen each other for a while, meet and share a reminiscing of past memories.

To me, the song signifies letting go of the last year and what it represented. Often, good friends or family move away, which leaves us with a sense of a loss and void that is not easy to fill. Out with the old and in with the new can sometimes be tough. New situations are sometimes faced with ambiguous feelings, with more than a little anxiety lagging behind. Healing is not easy.

The truth is that healing is a powerful choice, and the commitment to heal is the first step in recovery and wellness. As the year 2021 ends and the New Year 2022 begins, let us hope all our endings lead us to a healthier, happier, and a blessed future.

The End is Near

A priest and a deacon are standing by the side of a road holding up a sign that reads “The end is near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”

A passing driver yells, “You guys are nuts!” and speeds past them. From around the curve, they hear screeching tires—then a big splash. 

The priest turns to the deacon and says, “Do you think we should just put up a sign that says ‘Bridge Out’ instead?​

Change Your Perspective

“Every time I get worried about something I say my prayers more.” ~ Jim Burns

Whether we grew up in religious families or not, most of us seek help from some Greater Power when we're faced with terrifying situations. Often it's at an unconscious level that we ask for extra help. But the fact that we do elicit strength from some source comforts us, and this enables us to walk through the experience that appears so daunting.

We never outgrow the need for strength and comfort. That's good news. It's too awesome to think that we need to know all now, to understand how every detail of living should unfold. It's quite enough to limit our focus on the details of the next twenty-four hours.

Let's be vigilant about our search for guidance and comfort. And let's not forget that we have to listen for the response. If our minds are filled with worrying, there will be no space for the answers to enter.

Praying for solutions or comfort or just a moment of peace will change my perspective today. When my perspective changes, so do my experiences.

Friendship

. . . is you.
. . . is love.
. . . is shared.
. . . is forgiving.
. . . is understanding.
. . . is shared secrets.
. . . heals many hurts.
. . . is not judgmental.
. . . is shared laughter.
. . . is slow and steady.
. . . can be angry at times.
. . . is dependable and true.
. . . is meant to be savored.
. . . is more precious than silver or gold.
. . . is not perfect, much like we are not perfect.
. . . does not hold grudges or demand perfection.
. . . makes all the wrong things in life, right somehow.
. . . is meant to be gulped like lemonade on a hot summer day.
. . . is always there, through times of trial, happy times and hard times.
. . . just happens, but once discovered, needs to be tended like a beautiful garden.
. . . is a road to be traveled slowly, remembering the sights and sounds.
. . . is strength when you are too weak to notice its there.
. . . is a cherished moment of mutual understanding.
. . . reaches into your heart and grabs a firm hold.
. . . is a refreshing rain on a hot day.
. . . is sunshine through the clouds.
. . . cannot be forced or induced.
. . . is relaxed and comfortable.
. . . is a shoulder to lean on.
. . . is an ear to whine to.
. . . gets better with age.
. . . is shared tears.
. . . is shared pain.
. . . is shared joy.
. . . is shared.
. . . is love.
. . . is you.

World Peace

 

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Today's readings for the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph focus on three families, The Holy Family, the family of Samuel, Hannah and Elkanah and finally the family of God of which we are all a part. Mary, Joseph, Hannah, and Elkanah were devout, prayerful, faithful and trusting people who were obedient to God. Worship was a regular part of their daily lives. They loved God and God clearly loved them. They took their responsibilities as parents seriously and they nurtured two extraordinary children. Hannah and Mary recognized that their children were gifts from God, that they belonged to God and both realized that ultimately, they had to return their children to the Lord to serve Him.

As I reflected on the readings, one phrase, from 1 John 3: 1-2, captured my attention, "Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. And so, we are.... We are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Because we are children of God, we try to keep God's commandments: to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another. By keeping the commandments, we remain close to God and are a vital part of God's family and God remains with us and in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What this scripture passage from John says to me is that each one of us is a child of God. Each one of us belongs to a Holy Family. And each one of us has the responsibility to encourage holiness in the people closest to us – the people in our earthly families especially our children. God has a plan for each one of us including our children. Like Mary, Joseph, Hannah, and Elkanah, we must recognize that our children are a gift from God and they are not ours to keep. While we have them, we should provide them with a loving, nurturing and faithful environment so that they, like the child Jesus, can advance “in wisdom and age and favor before God and man” (Luke 1: 52).

God our Father, 

we give you all thanks and praise 

that you chose for your Son a human family. 

Through the prayers and example of Mary and Joseph, 

may we too learn to make room for Jesus in our lives, 

that he may grow up in us day after day and make us more like him.

Teach us to rely on your word, 

that in our trials as in our joys we may 

be clothed in gentleness and patience and united in love. 

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen

The Gifts I'd Leave

 

A cop pulls over a carload of nuns. The cop says, “Sister, this is a 55 MPH highway. Why are you going so slow?”

The Sister replies, “Sir, I saw a lot of signs that said 25, not 55.”

The cop answers, “Oh, Sister, that's not the speed limit, that's the name of the highway you are on!”

The Sister says, “Oh! Silly me! Thanks for letting me know. I'll be more careful.”

At this point, the cop looks in the backseat where the other nuns are shaking and trembling.

The cop asks, “Excuse me, Sister, what's wrong with your friends back there? They are shaking something terrible.”

The Sister answers, “Oh, we just got off Highway 101.”

Mary's Dream

I had a dream, Joseph. I don't understand it.

Not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our Son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought new clothes. They'd gone shopping many times and bought elaborate gifts. It was peculiar, though, because the presents weren't for our Son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and stacked them under a tree.

Yes, a tree, Joseph, right in their house. They'd decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls and sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on top of the tree. It looked like an angel might look.

Oh, it was beautiful. Everyone was laughing and happy. They were all excited about the gifts. They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not to our Son. I don't think they even knew Him. They never mentioned His name.

Doesn't it seem odd for people to go to all that trouble to celebrate someone's birthday if they don't know Him?

I had the strangest feeling that if our Son had gone to this celebration, He would have been intruding.

Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me want to cry. How sad for Jesus not to be wanted at His own birthday celebration.

I'm glad it was only a dream. How terrible, Joseph, if it had been real.

Author Unknown

Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue

Lovely Lady dressed in blue
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
Tell me what to say!

Did you lift Him up, sometimes,
Gently on your knee?
Did you sing to Him the way
Mother does to me?

Did you hold His hand at night?
Did you ever try
Telling stories of the world?
O! And did He cry?

Do you really think He cares
If I tell Him things,
Little things that happen? And
Do the Angels' wings

Make a noise? And can He hear
Me if I speak low?
Does He understand me now?
Tell me, for you know.

Lovely Lady dressed in blue
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
And you know the way.

Mary Dixon Thayer who wrote more than one poem for Our Lady, is the author.
This prayer-poem was popularized in the 1950s by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

Sing your Songs

Hello, God

Hello God, I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety and trial.

You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep,
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God,
Until tomorrow!

Say More Prayers

Every time I get worried about something I say my prayers more.

Whether we grew up in religious families or not, most of us seek help from some Greater Power when we're faced with terrifying situations. Often it's at an unconscious level that we ask for extra help. But the fact that we do elicit strength from some source comforts us, and this enables us to walk through the experience that appears so daunting.

We never outgrow the need for strength and comfort. That's good news. It's too awesome to think that we need to know all now, to understand how every detail of living should unfold. It's quite enough to limit our focus on the details of the next twenty-four hours.

Let's be vigilant about our search for guidance and comfort. And let's not forget that we have to listen for the response. If our minds are filled with worrying, there will be no space for the answers to enter.

Praying for solutions or comfort or just a moment of peace will change my perspective today. When my perspective changes, so do my experiences.

Pray in Silence

I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence-we need to listen to God because it's not what we say but what He says to us and through us that matters. Prayer feeds the soul-as blood is to the body, prayer is to the soul-and it brings you closer to God. It also gives you a clean and pure heart. A clean heart can see God, can speak to God, and can see the love of God in others. When you have a clean heart it means you are open and honest with God, you are not hiding anything from Him, and this lets Him take what He wants from you.

Mother Theresa

Be at Peace