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BYE BYE 2024; WELCOME 2025
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February 19, 2025The end of year 2024 was full of festive and colorful events to express the joy of having lived a whole year in entirety. It is already a tradition to organize gatherings, feasts, socials, etc... to celebrate the end of the year; but very often people forget to go to church, to pray and thank God.
In fact, the end of year 2024 and the advent of 2025 are occasions of Thanksgiving to God for granting us the grace to have lived all the year 2024. Many died and we are still alive! Many are sick, and we are still up and doing! Many had an accident from which they are still suffering or handicapped today, but we were saved, or we are in a better condition. Many have been blessed with children and grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Many had found a job or a better job. Many found healing or were preserved from a worse situation. Many succeeded in school or in their studies, in their research, in their work, in their projects and undertakings. Many were blessed in one way or another. We have each been blessed in so many ways that we cannot really count our blessings. Like the Psalmist, we must say; “how can I repay the Lord for the good He has done for me? Your servant Lord, your servant am I. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord...” Ps 116: 12-13
Yes, because of God’s kindness to us who are still alive, who have had the grace to see and to welcome 2025, we too, like the Psalmist, should offer some sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. We should be asking ourselves “What can I offer to the Lord to make him happy?” as someone once sang. Each of us should think about it freely and in conscience. If we do believe that our God is a loving Father for us and that He is caring, we should also show ourselves to Him as good and faithful sons and daughters.
2024 has not only been full of blessings and occasions of joy. There have also been moments of sadness because of our failures, the death of our dear ones, or many sorrowful events. It is the opportunity to leave all these in the hands of God and welcome 2025 as a New Year of grace and of hope in communion with the whole church which celebrates the year of hope.
Why not hope that 2025 will be a better year? Why not welcome it as a year of grace? Without God, we can do nothing. Jesus says in Jn 15: 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me as I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.” Yes, we cannot do without the Lord! Let us ask Him for the grace to always remain united with Him so that all that we will think, say or do in 2025 should take its source in Christ in order to bear fruits that will last. That should be the prayer of each one of us. In fact, that is my prayer for you who are reading these words. Permit me to borrow these words of St. Paul to conclude my prayer for you:
“ I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God has bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in Him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end ...” (1 Cor 1: 4-8)
May God Bless You in 2025!