Prayerful Hope For The Future - 2016

In Gratitude and Thanksgiving for the Past and Prayerful Hope for the Future

As we bid farewell to the eventful and memorable year of 2015 and welcome 2016, let’s take a moment to sit back and reflect on the past year. There have been moments of joy and sadness, success and failures. Let’s ask ourselves what have we learned through all the events that have come to pass.

If we see the hand of God guiding us, showing us the way throughout 2015, then we can forge ahead as a people of Joy to take on 2016! How can we be joy-filled amidst the clouds of uncertainty that we know will yet hover above us into the New Year? Essentially, it is because we know that Jesus IS in our midst! He is with us if we lose ourselves in Him, get out of our selfish lifestyle and let Him move and live among us. It takes an act of faith, of mercy as we reach out to others in need.

Soon we will be doing the registration for the catechism students. We encourage parents to register your children. Our children are capable of understanding deep teachings and profound mysteries. All the wonders and joy mean nothing, if we fail to let our little ones   experience the wonder of God in their lives. The Church wants them to experience the wonder of a tiny baby born long ago, a baby who was the Son of God made man. It is our catechism teachers’ duty to educate them gradually so that they may express their Christmas proclamation, “The Word Became Flesh and Lived Among Us” and tell the story of Jesus who walks with us in their own words. They are doing their best to help your children learn,  in the simplest of ways, the mysteries of the Child-Jesus, Church teachings and traditions.

As an outflow of God’s mercy towards us sinners, we can  confidently stretch out our hands to grant mercy and forgiveness to our brothers and sisters. When we do not hold grudges against others but forgive, then only can we be reconciled with one another and with God. First of all, we need to learn to be patient. Patience is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf Gal 5). In fact it is the key to focusing on the goodness that dwells within. Recognizing and believing this will move you in the right direction to enrich and prosper your life in unprecedented ways.

So, with a heart filled with thanksgiving and gratitude, I as your Parish priest, humbly implore God to bless you and your families with ten-fold blessings – with all that is good, righteous, beautiful and true! In the Year of Mercy, let us fire up our hearts for Christ and be determined, through prayers and works of mercy, to live and share a life that is happy and at peace with one another.

As we start the New Year 2016 we ask ourselves how we can be different than before! Will you enthusiastically say “yes” to God’s love and plan this Year of Mercy?

The New Year brings hopeful expectations to many of us. Perhaps this is the year that we allow God to radically change us ever humble, patient, kind and zealous to build up His Kingdom on earth. 

We, Catholics must be comfortable in sharing our Faith start with our own friends and families, and then go to the people who are little distance.

For the Jubilee of Mercy, we might consider these commitments as Catholic Christians to witness Jesus through works of mercy.

1 Pray daily and meditate on the mercy of God, “be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful." 

2 Go to Confession regularly to receive God's mercy deeply.

3 If you are caught in an addiction of any kind, get help!

4 Go out and demonstrate the mercy of God. Start with your own friends and family, and then go to the people of other faiths.

God is saying, “I am going to do a new thing," and He is going to open doors that you never even dreamed possible. 

Mary, Mother of God is perpetually interceding for our transformation into Christ.

Have A Blessed and Spirit-Filled New Year!