I am so grateful that my church, St Timothy, offers Saturday morning daily Mass! This enables me to go to Mass every day of the year! The church is still as if waiting for the wedding ceremonies that will inevitably take place on Saturday afternoon, and she awaits the vigil Masses of Saturday evening (one in English and one in Spanish), and of course she stands ready to receive the mass quantities of Sunday worshippers. But for a moment it is very quiet and mops and brooms and rags are stacked against the back wall while we celebrate the end of the week, and today, the end of the year.
The gospel reading this morning hearkens back to the beginning of Genesis as Saint John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (old translations say… he placed his tent among us). From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace… grace and truth came through Him." and so we remember the words that are emblazoned on our memory… "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth". Memory. Today, New Years Eve, is a day for memory… Today we remember what we did and what we meant to do and sometimes, what we failed to do… Whom did we help and whom did we not help? No matter … memory is gone. Today asks us to look forward. Regardless of "what happened" let us look forward and think of the graces… "grace upon grace." Regardless of the profit or loss of last year, it is necessary to remember the words I’ve printed above from the beginning of Genesis and from the beginning of the Gospel of Saint John… and to thank God for every moment of life.
Without an open heart, we cannot tell the beauty of God’s creation. Let us pledge to be open, to look for the bright star, to welcome the gifts and the hope the gifts promise. Let us pledge to discern the beauty in the world. Let us see the gifts. Go outside and welcome the sun and watch the sunset. Notice that the morning star is already there, hanging in the West… waiting for the next dawn. Gift upon gift, grace upon grace! Let that peace and grace-filled waiting influence all your actions this coming year… thoughts, work, actions. God bless you!