New Year Brings Opportunities to Renew Our Journey With Christ

There is something undeniably exciting about the hope and optimism that come with the beginning of a new year. Following the season of preparation during Advent and the joyous celebration of the birth of Christ, we are invited to pause once more and reflect upon our goals and dreams for the coming year. As a parish, we look forward to continuing to provide the faithful of St. Vincent de Paul with many opportunities for spiritual growth.

Fr. Philip Brembah views the new year as a particularly unique time to take stock of our faith lives and begin a process of renewal.

“Of course, any time is a good time, but entering into a new year gives us a sense of hope,” Fr. Philip says. “I believe that celebrating Christmas, with Christ present among us, and celebrating Mary, the Mother of God on New Year’s Day, makes it a hopeful time to start over again or to continue from where we left off, to readjust ourselves to new circumstances. It is a time of rejuvenation.”

With some parishioners isolating at home due to the COVID-19 crisis, Fr. Philip continues to offer a livestream of the daily and weekend Masses. He is also excited about livestreaming the Holy Hour that takes place immediately following the Friday Mass. As the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, those present in the church and those following along at home pray the Rosary together. After a time for silent prayer intentions, the Holy Hour concludes with a benediction. Fr. Philip hopes that many parishioners will continue to watch the livestream videos from our parish and reflect on the readings and homilies throughout the day.

Whether online or in-person, participating in our Masses, prayer services, faith formation, and other parish activities is a wonderful way to stay connected to both our parish community and God. In many ways, a new year is an invitation to recommit to a closer relationship with Christ.

“In any relationship, you always have to evaluate yourself,” Fr. Philip says. “We have already made a commitment to Christ, and we agreed to journey with Him on that path of holiness that leads to eternal gladness. So entering the new year is a good way to assess how we are making the journey. Are we speeding or are we journeying with Him? Are we obeying the road signs — are we going according to the rules and the love — so we do not veer off of the path that Jesus has set for us?”

As Fr. Philip reminds us, two of the most important “road signs” for a faithful life can be found in Scripture and prayer. As the Good News of salvation, the Bible provides us with the insights we need to live in the presence of the Lord. Reading just one passage a day, Fr. Philip points out, will make us familiar with the Word of God and bring us closer in our journey. Carving out time for an active prayer life also plays an essential role in our spiritual growth.

“Prayer helps us to develop that personal relationship we have with Christ,” Fr. Philip says. “It is like dating someone — you want to be in the presence of that person all the time, and if you don’t talk to that person, you don’t feel complete. Prayer life brings us close to Christ and deepens our relationship with Him, and in so doing, we get to know Him much better. There is a big difference between hearing about someone and having personal knowledge about them. This is about what we’ve personally experienced, deepening that friendship every moment of our lives by setting aside time in the course of our busy schedule.”

A new year is always a fitting time to step back and reflect on our lives and where we hope to be 12 months from now. As Catholics, this process includes a prayerful discernment of how Christ might be calling us to enrich our faith by living as intentional disciples in 2021. Fr. Philip hopes all the faithful at St. Vincent de Paul will be inspired by this time of renewal to participate in the opportunities for spiritual growth offered by the parish, delve a little deeper into Scripture, and rejuvenate their commitment to prayer.

“Following the joy of Christmas, we enter into the new year with joy,” Fr. Philip says. “And we are hopeful because we have evaluated ourselves and come up with resolutions to keep the light of Christ burning brighter. We leave the gloom and the doom and everything behind, and we enter into the new year just like a child is born into the family. It’s a time of joy and a time of hope that the child is going to grow to become somebody great in the family. We grow that way spiritually with Christ.”