Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of glad 2023 is behind us. It seemed like I woke up every day asking myself if all the chaos in the world can get any worse. Then I check out the news, and yep, it looked like we kept spinning ever faster out of control.
Now this doesn’t mean that we’re all lost, and that nothing good is happening, because great things are taking place every day. One of my resolutions for the New Year (yes, I still make them and write them out in my journal) is to be more focused on the positive rather than the negative. I think this will be a good resolution for all of us, since 2024 is shaping up to have plenty of firestorms, especially on the political front.
Another resolution I’ve made is the be more diligent in my prayer life. Although I would say that I devote quite a bit of time in my day to prayer, in 2024 I feel like I’m being called to focus on intercessory prayer, especially for peace in the world, especially Israel.
I leave you with an image and two songs:
There is a footbridge at the retreat center I lead several retreats a year.. Many people come on my retreats praying about the changes they want to make in their lives. I ask them to see themselves as they are right now, standing on one side of the bridge. I ask them to think about what changes need to happen in order for them to successfully get to where they want to go (the other side of the bridge). What do they need to leave behind, and what will await them once they cross over and get to their destination. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the Bon Secours bridge image to integrate into this post, so I found another bridge image which visually gives you the idea…
I always find this reflection helpful for me, and even though you live far from Bon Secours, you can mindfully do this exercise on your sofa at home.
As one year ends and another begins, the Christian Church has sung the Te Deum prayer for millennia. I love this rendition from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. God bless these dear and faithful sisters.
In the early days of the pandemic, a great friend sent me a link to a song by JJ Heller entitled You Already Know, which provided me and many other friends such consolation during those very difficult months. I still play this song on my retreats, since we always need reminding that no matter what happens, God is in the midst of it.
May 2024 bring many blessings to everyone reading these words, and to our country and world. Let’s each make a resolution to pray daily for peace in our hearts, our homes, our workplace/school, our Church, our country and the world in which we live.
May God bless us all in 2024.
photo by screamenteagle via pixabay
