| Beginning a new year |
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| Tuesday, 05 January 2010 11:25 | |||
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New Year’s is a time for pondering past and future. We look at much more than movements of planets. In the DNA and bone marrow of our being, we reflect on the One Who calls us to life and sustains our existence. In all our difficulties, we cannot forget the One Who is the truth beneath all truths, the desire beneath all desires, the love beneath all loves. New Year’s is a time to renew our gratitude to Almighty God. Gratitude is at the heart of our interior love for God. Yes, we may experience individually the sense of a divided mind, an uneasy conscience, a personal failure with the passage of time. God calls us, however, to new hope and new life. We do look to our blind spots, shadows, mistakes, faults, and sins that inhibit our development and prevent a stronger communion with God. There is always room for regeneration. In God’s grace, we bring new focus to the finer tastes, the finer pleasures, the finer aspirations, the tougher but more rewarding experiences of the human spirit upon which to pitch our lives. Some people may concentrate on successes and failures, but the telling factor is how we begin again. It is often said that resolutions are made to be broken. That statement is frequently not true. How many people with an alcohol problem have sworn off the demon and can point to days, months, years, decades of sobriety? How many drug abusers, with significant help, have broken the chains of addiction? How many smokers have sworn off the habit and breathe freely with a new hold on life? How many people have looked at a weight problem and, with a careful plan, have attacked it successfully? Similarly with sex addictions, the records of recovery offer convincing hope for many. So we make our resolutions. We dig down within ourselves to exercise deeper reserves, greater vigor. We cannot do it by ourselves. Through all the challenges, we kneel transparent before God in prayer for His graces. Catholic Schools For the Archdiocese of Hartford, the month of January is Catholic Schools Month, leading up to Catholic Schools Week at the end of it. Last July, I wrote an article for the diocesan newspapers in New England about Catholic schools entitled “Parents Know.” A few excerpts may be appropriate here, as we begin a New Year. • Parents know where real value is, and they know the value of our Catholic schools. • Parents know the results of standardized tests and how our students compare so favorably with students from other schools on those same tests. • They know that Catholic schools address the whole person: physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual. It is a matter of integrity – integrity of the student and integrity of the school. They understand that without spiritual development, all education is fundamentally flawed. • They know that Catholic schools integrate prayer in the course of the day and highlight the sacraments as critically important in our lives. Periodic celebrations of the Mass give praise to God and remind us of our identity. The saints are presented as models for every age. • They know that Catholic schools function as families and that our schools encourage the involvement of parents, guardians, and grandparents. • Parents know that Catholic schools require order and an atmosphere conducive to learning. They provide safe and secure environments. • They know that Catholic schools cultivate study habits in our students and train them in work habits which serve them for life. • They know that Catholic schools enable youngsters to establish roots for steady and strong growth. They understand that without roots, you are left with dryness, decadence, and decay. • Parents know that Catholic schools teach us to love God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – our origin and our ultimate destiny. • They know that Catholic schools give direction to our lives. They understand that our schools provide a moral compass, enabling us to stand against aimless drift. • They know that Catholic schools focus attention on every single student, each one created in the image and likeness of God. • They know that Catholic schools see in religion a unique and extraordinary incentive for the practice of the virtues. • They know that Catholic schools produce leaders, academically prepared, knowledgeable of the world around us, and sensitive to the needs of others. • Parents know that with all of us working together, and with God’s grace, Catholic schools produce great people. Later in the article, I reported that the Catholic schools in the six states of New England currently save government approximately $1.35 billion ($1,350,000,000) a year in operational expenses. This figure does not include the costs for capital repair and new construction that would be necessary if our schools did not exist. More support from government sources would be appropriate and helpful, and we continue to work for that. Archbishop’s Annual Appeal The final results for 2009 will not be tabulated until the second week of January 2010. The current total is $9,284,774. While that figure is $111,522 less than in 2008, the amount is truly extraordinary. Despite all the financial challenges, your continued generosity is phenomenal. We know that we are in the “Year for Priests,” and our priests are profoundly inspirational in their leadership. The average gift from the priests (242 gifts) is $1,120. I recognize that the priests are somewhat embarrassed when the amount is mentioned, but it is important that we celebrate what our priests are rendering both in advocacy and in support. As you are aware, a special feature of the 2009 Appeal has been the Emergency Assistance Fund, providing services to our people in need: food, clothing, rental assistance, utilities payments, furniture, medical prescriptions, car repairs for travel to work, etc. The requests rose as the year went on, with particular increases in the month of December. Because of your support, we have been able to answer the requests. We will certainly have to continue this program in the 2010 Appeal. The theme for the 2009 Appeal was, “People of Hope Giving in Faith.” Your charity and love show you to be living testimony of that theme. Thank you once again for all your goodness and all your love. You are magnificent expressions of God’s love, which transcends and is imminent in all that we do. Happy New Year!
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The pull and drawing power of the planets summon us to another year. The problems of 2009, with the loss of jobs and home foreclosures in the context of an ominous economic meltdown, nonetheless encourage us to move forward with new hope and aspirations.
