Another year is behind us with its three hundred and sixty-five days, with its work, and with its worries and joys. It is behind us, with its plans we could have implemented, as well as the less successful ones. The year has passed. But it is not erased. It has not been lost forever. That is why, at the end of the year, we look back, take stock, and conclude. Of course, these reflections extend beyond economics.
Everyone, although the end of the old and the beginning of the new year is associated more with external manifestations of joy and fun, should assess the previous period in the silence of their heart. Indeed, because good and evil endure past the stroke of midnight. He will accompany us as a guide to our future as well. An assessment before the “Lord of Time” can save us in the future.
We have lived this year, as in all others, immersed in its joys and miseries. We have heard and read a lot about the events of this year in recent days. Some things have interested us very much, others not. Naturally, everyone considers different values to be significant and vital.
Therefore, we reflect on what appears significant to us and what we believe is relevant to our lives. In the year that is ending, not so much the outstanding achievements and progress of our time have attracted interest, but rather concern and fear have appeared in people’s souls. The worries that weigh on the people of this earth are too significant. Concern for nutrition and health, for the climate and the protection of species, for peace, tranquility, social justice, and ensuring human dignity; concern for solidarity with the hungry and those who suffer injustice; concern for the consequences of biological and medical research and technical progress on the life of this earth. Politicians are paralyzing each other rather than reaching a consensus. And the moral reserves in our country?
When we reflect on this at the end of the year, we do so also with the intention of better recognizing the context of our lives, which cannot be separated and detached from the concerns of the world and the people of these times. It is not just a matter of wanting to change something around us, but, above all, a change primarily in us. God lends us a hand in this effort. Just a few days ago, we joyfully recalled his coming into this world as a man. This is not just the poetry of Christmas, but the reality of Christian everyday life… He gives us courage. We do not just have to complain, lament the misery of this world, or resign. “Behold, I am with you…”
“God carries the cosmos,” says Bishop Franz Kamphaus, and adds, “If we wanted to take the world into our own hands, we would be going terribly far. He carries the cosmos. If this is really the case, then we have free hands, feet, heads, and hearts to begin the reform of each of us: within ourselves, in the Church, and in society.” This courage comes from the trust that we are in God’s hands, that He is carrying us. With this trust, friends, let us enter the new year as new people.
