Happy New Year! (Round 2)

And so we begin the countdown for the final hours of 2013. 

My year, like so many people's , was filled with much joy, many blessings, some frustrations, and moments of sadness. And while I am happy to welcome in the new year, I am, in some ways, sad to see 2013 go. Even with the ups and downs, it was a wonderful year of a deeper sense of growing into my vocation as a priest. (Of course, I can say that for 2012 and 2011, too.) 

For 2013, I never made any definitive resolutions. I know that I won't keep them. That's not to say I didn't try to better myself. At the beginning of the year, I chose five areas of my life that I needed to pay particular attention to and to improve in my life in various ways. The list included:


- Prayer;

- My Attitude;

- Relationships with My Family & Friends;

-  My Health; and

- Time for Reflection


All in all, I don't think that I did too bad in following through on my commitment in trying to increase my focus in these areas, yet I know that I failed miserably at times in paying attention to these items in my life. I know that I'll be doing a similar list for 2014, and the majority of items will be back on the list, for those are the things in life that I know I need to focus on. And I know that at certain times, I'll do well in focusing on those said items, and at other times I will fail miserably once again. I'd be lying to myself if I believed that 2014 would be the year in which I became perfect. (Because perfection won't be reached until I'm dead.)

Yet, as 2013 comes to a close, I'm glad to have all the experiences, joyful and frustrating, that passed through my life. I'm also to be glad and thankful for all the people who have passed through my life this year - family, friends, parishioners, strangers - for they have all shown me a glimpse of God in this world.

Blessed, Happy, and Joyful New Year 2014 to you all!



 And because we all need to sing this tonight . . .



Enjoy the journey . . .