As we mark New Year’s Day, we contemplate how we can make the new year better than the year before. Usually, we come up with the typical resolutions to help us reach our goal.
Most of us will aim to lose weight, exercise more, spend more time with family, and watch what we eat or drink. We put so much time and effort into our physical existence, yet often forget and neglect our spiritual eternal souls. May I suggest praying the rosary!
Reflecting on the joyful mysteries can reshape our lives. The first joyful mystery is the Annunciation (Luke 1:28-33): “Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’”
How can scripture change our lives? Just as the angel proclaimed the coming of Jesus to the Blessed Mother, and she willingly accepted the request with joy, so are we commissioned to tell others about Jesus. Telling others about Jesus confirms our joy in the spiritual hope of heaven.
We read in Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.’”
In the second joyful mystery, The Visitation, a pregnant Mary travels a long distance on what must have been an uncomfortable journey to see her cousin. Her visit wasn’t just a social call; Mary put aside her own needs to care for her cousin Elizabeth, who was about to give birth to John the Baptist: “Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home” (Luke 1:56).
When we serve others, we spiritually and physically rejuvenate ourselves. St. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:13: “For you were called for freedom, brother. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love.” And Jesus said in John 12:26: “Whoever serves me must follow Me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves Me.”
In the third joyful mystery we meditate on the birth of Jesus: “…and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).
Similarly, we must open our hearts to Jesus. The doors to our hearts can be closed due to trials and tribulations we’ve encountered in our lifetime. Should we blame God? Scripture says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that He promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).
In the fourth joyful mystery, we meditate on the Presentation: “When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,’ and to offer the sacrifice of ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,’ in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord” (Luke 2:22-24).
Mary, who delivered the Messiah, went to the temple to fulfill the Law of Moses. Joseph and Mary offered the required sacrifice. Mary and Joseph didn’t balk, but instead humbled themselves before God. In today’s world, a humble person is considered weak. Satan knows how to spin words. Remember Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan and Eve had a little chat before Eve disobeyed God: “But the snake said to the woman: ‘You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:4-5).
And St. Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others.”
In the fifth joyful mystery, Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple, we read in Luke 2:46-47: “After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.”
Mary and Joseph lost Jesus in the crowd. Sometimes our daily struggles, the people we associate with, hardness of heart, and our selfishness prevents us from entering the church doors and we lose our eternal joy. So often we hear, “That church is full of hypocrites.” When saying this, the person is actually saying, “The church is full of sinners.” Jesus has the answer, in Luke 5:30-32: “The Pharisees and their scribes complained to His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.’” Yes, the church is full of sinners.
In conclusion, Hebrews 10:19-23 tells us: “Therefore, brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way He opened for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have ‘a great priest over the house of God,’ let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for He who made the promise is trustworthy.”
Happy New You in 2017!
Barbara Case Speers is a writer who lives in Hickory.