Loading...Good morning. Merry Christmas and happy New Year. As I begin my reflection, allow me to get back on my annual soap box and try to remind everyone that it’s still Christmas.
The 12 days of Christmas didn’t start before Christmas — they began on Christmas day. So that means today we celebrate the fourth day of Christmas. You now have four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle Doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.
More gifts to come…your home is going to be really noisy and busy.
WHEW.
So don’t be in a hurry to take down your Christmas decorations. However, if you have already done so, remember it’s still OK to wish people merry Christmas and of course, wish them Happy New Year, Health, Happiness and Peace.
The Liturgical New Year, Year A, the year of Matthew, began on November 30th.
And today, we celebrate the first Sunday after Christmas. And WHOOSH on January 1, this coming Thursday, we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus and the circumcision.
Look over at the window and you’ll see the Magi are still making their way to visit Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The Feast of the Epiphany will be celebrated next Tuesday supposedly when he the Magi arrived.
I’m sorry folks Their camels are not that fast. The Magi didn’t mount their camels and speed toward Bethlehem arriving on the Sixth of January or 13 days after the birth of Jesus. Scholars really believe that it took them almost two years to visit Jesus and by then he was two years old and back in Nazareth.
And while we speak of the Magi, were there really three or is that the story because there were three gifts that were brought.
But I digress. Enough whiplash? Ok. Time waits for no one. Another great cliché and so on Sunday the 11th of January, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. HUH?
All of a sudden, we are witnessing John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, baptizing him, who is now in his early 30t’s and so our whirlwind Liturgical year continues.
For quite a few Sundays from then on we’ll see Jesus choosing his disciples and assembling his inner circle — the Apostles. The Liturgical colors will be green as we enter one of the Ordinary periods of the year. Ordinary only because of how the numbering of the Sundays is construed.
Want some more whiplash? In 45 days we will observe ASH WEDNESDAY. Yes Lent begins and we wonder how in the world can we grasp this liturgical whirlwind we have every year. We’ll take down the green frontals and purple will be the color during that period of time.
We didn’t have a chance to enjoy Christ’s infancy that we’re already observing his early 30s and his ministry.
And you know what’s next…before you know it, we’ll be observing Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and so it continues.
So if you think your year, your life, has been a whirlwind and wondering what in the world happened in 2025, just think what happens to us as Christians every single year.
We no sooner celebrate the birth of Jesus that just months later we’re observing his death and his resurrection. In our liturgical year, that will be 98 days or fourteen weeks.
So why mention this whirlwind of passage of time? Because I believe we should take a deep, deep breath today and especially on Thursday, January 1st.
Take your time beginning tomorrow to chill and reflect.
If you’re in a rush to make temporal resolutions like losing weight, quit smoking, going to the YMCA more often, changing your diet, drinking less, so be it.
But take your time to make spiritual resolutions. It’s not hard to do. There are so many resources at your disposal to help you find your Spiritual Path in 2026.
Take advantage of resources like the Daily Office on our website. Click on that button and you’ll have Morning and Evening Prayer at your disposal. What a great way to reflect. And if your resolution over the years was to read more of the Bible, the daily office is just what the doctor ordered.
But wait there’s more. There are so many prayer and inspirational sites on line that you won’t run out of Spiritual fortifications.
But wait there’s more. Take out a piece of paper and pen begin sketching our your Spiritual Autobiography. It’s an exercise we use in EFM but you don’t have to be in EFM to write out where you’ve been spiritually over the course of your life. Believe me. When you commit that liturgical timeline to paper, you’ll be amazed at the twists, turns, detours and roadblocks you’ve encountered over the years and what you would like to do next in your spiritual journey.
But wait. There’s more. I was honored to share with my EFM class the Ignatian Daily Examen. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, created this daily process that I have found to be a great wakeup call on a daily basis. Go online and check out the Ignatian Examen. It works. Trust me, it’s not rocket science. It’s all about reflection, thanksgiving, and preparation for the next day. Do I use tis recess every day? Not entirely, but there are so many elements within the Examen that makes me thank God for another day and what I need to do to be a better person, a better Christian, when the next day arrives.
So as I prepare to end my reflection I want you to think about the passage of time. How may hours in a day? 24 or 1, 440 minutes. Can you take a few of those minutes to devote to God, yourself and your spirituality? That’s what resolutions are all about.
Before you go to the YMCA, spend 10 minutes reflecting on your spiritual health and well-being. Guaranteed it will be a very Happy and Blessed New Year for you.
