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Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Cycle A
Terranova Hermitage
January 1, 2016
Theme:
New Year’s ResolutionsBy (Rev.
Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Erma’s
Resolutions
Some of us, maybe many of us here will
remember Erma Bombeck.
Erma was a well known humorist and brought
smiles to many faces. She wrote about
fifteen books and did many newspaper columns.
Erma Bombeck died in 1996. Well, one year she came up with a list of six
New Year’s resolutions and they go like this.:
1.
I’m going to clean
this dump just as soon as the kids grow up.
2.
I will go to no doctor
whose office plants have died.
3.
I’m going to follow my
husband’s suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within
our budget.
4.
I’m going to apply for
a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
5.
I will never lend my
car to anyone I have given birth to.
6. And, finally, just like last year, I am going to remember
that my children need love most when they deserve it least.
Mary
With all of Erma’s wit, she ends with a very
insightful resolution.
That resolution – about loving her children
when they deserve it least – shows some thoughtful reflection. Erma must have reflected on her role as a
mother and discerned what she was called to do.
In today’s gospel, Mary is also presented as a
person who reflects. Saint Luke says
that after she has given birth to Jesus, “Mary
treasures all these things and reflects on them in her heart.”
Well, the example of Mary calls us to the same
reflective spirit in our own lives. This
can be especially appropriate on New Year’s Day.
So, if we are inclined to make some New Year’s
resolutions, I recommend that we reflect on the three dimensions of time – on
the past, the future, and the present.
And let’s do it in that order – the past, then the future, and finally
the present and see what resolutions are appropriate for us.
Resolutions: The Past
First, the past.
Maybe we need to resolve to stop saying things like “If only I had done this” or “If
only I had not said that.”
Usually, our “if onlys” are a waste of time and
energy. We cannot bring back or re-do
the past.
On the other hand, if our regret is based on an
appropriate feeling of guilt, then let’s resolve to ask for forgiveness from
the person involved or from God. In this
way, we bring the past to completion and let the past be past.
Resolutions: The Future
Then, the future.
Maybe we need to resolve to stop saying things like “What if this happens” or “What
if he does that.”
Usually our “what ifs,” like our “if onlys,” are a
waste of time and energy. They are almost
always focused on something in the future that we cannot control.
So maybe we need to resolve to cut out all the “what
ifs” and instead to follow Mary’s example and trust in God about the future –
to trust that God will be with us through whatever happens. Maybe this resolution will enable us to approach
the future with less anxiety and with more peace.
Resolutions: The Present
And that takes us to the last dimension of time, the
most important, the present. Maybe we need
to resolve to be present to the present – to really be present to the person we
are with or the work we are doing at any given moment.
I think this may be the most important resolution
for us today. Our Smartphones – like my
iPhone – they enable us to be connected with other people and with other events
and with news all the time.
They are a great help, but, but we may find
ourselves texting or talking with someone else and not communicating with those
sitting right at the same table with us.
So maybe we need to resolve to be present to who and what is present.
Maybe we need to resolve to find how God is coming
to us right here and now. And maybe we can
find our peace and joy and fulfillment right there – by being present to the
present.
Conclusion
So, with those thought, Happy New Year!
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