resolution or revolution?

Happy New Year!

2009 was pretty good!  I would say there were probably more highlights than lowlights.   We lost one almost-family member at the beginning of Janaury, but other than that we are mostly healthy and still alive. No arrests.  No accidents.  No close friends moving far away.  No unemployment.  Nothing worth complaining about.  Hopefully 2010 will bring more good things than bad.  More blessings than trials, though there are certain to be some of each.

We started the year off right with Mass at 8:30 this morning.  The official title of the day is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.    I can remember it having other titles when we were growing up.  A celebration of the circumcision of Jesus (ouch), the Feast of the Holy Family, and something about the Octave of Christmas.  Yesterday at the Anticipated Mass, Father talked about Mary, and while he had lots of good points, his homily was really difficult to summarize.  More like a collection of thoughts. 

Today was a little more streamlined.  He mentioned New Year's Resolutions - which I refuse to even bother with.  He said that the only resolution worth making is to resolve to make use of all the opportunities given to us to live as a child of God.  That sounds fairly reasonable.  Off the top of my head, I can see that the sacraments offer us opportunities to live as children of God.  Even confession - Reconciliation - is a gift which acknowledges God as a loving and merciful Father and frees us from our sins - allowing us to live with the dignity of one of God's chosen ones.  Certainly there will be opportunities other than the sacraments.  Opportunities for service.  Opportunities for prayer.  Opportunities of worship and thanksgiving.  Opportunities for study and learning.  Let us use the opportunities we are given.  If the world would resolve to do that, Father says, then we will not have a resolution, but a revolution.