Blessings for a Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Most of us are back at work. Even though it's only the 10th Day of Christmas, the world of commerce pretty much keeps going and needs us to grease the gears. So here most of us are back at work, maybe feeling a bit tired or foggy from all the "making merry" of the last week or so. Well, if you've got a job to go to that pays decently, you probably should be happy now. Some of our brothers - maybe a lot of them - would be happy to have a job that pays decently.

As for me, I'm back in the saddle, but struggling a bit. We had a pretty full place over the last couple of weeks, but not only are the kids gone who don't live here anymore, but the two remaining guys are off to a January college course in Italy. Really, I'm happy for the opportunity they've got to be "over there," but it is kind of lonely for my wife and me without them.

In fact, if that's all the pain and sorrow 2011 brings, I'll be more than happy to settle for it. Of course, we Catholics know that suffering is part of our lot in life. In fact, Jesus taught us that we need to take up our crosses and follow Him. And so that's what we should all remember as we get back to our jobs today.

Of course, I can't help but remember those good times we had over the last week or so, even though we did have to cancel our annual visit to my brother's place because of the blizzard we had here in New York. We still managed to spend time together, feast a bit, and generally celebrate the Days of Christmas.

You know, the Twelve Days of Christmas lead us right to January 6th, the "real" feast of the Epiphany. (Yes, I know we "officially" celebrated the Epiphany this past Sunday.) And it would be so much better if the world out there celebrated Christmas as it was "designed" rather than push it aside the minute December 25th ends. But it doesn't.

So it's up to us, gents, to keep Christmas the way it should be kept. And that means we're still in the midst of the Christmas Season - officially until the Baptism of the Lord, which comes next Sunday, January 16th. Don't let Christmas slip away too soon.

As far as those of us who either don't have jobs to get back to or are suffering financially in any way - as even so many of us employed folks are - try to keep it in perspective as best you can. Our Lord came to live among us and He's still here with us. So turn to Him.

And for the more fortunate among us, please pray for all those less fortunate - and pray especially hard as we continue working our way through these difficult times. Remember that we're all members of the Communion of Saints - all pulling for each other today and every day of this New Year of Our Lord 2011.

But for all of us, whether we had a good year in 2010, and whatever our expectations are for 2011, I want to welcome 2011 with this this little piece called "One Solitary Life" recited by the great Bing Crosby. I found it on Youtube and shared it with people who receive a monthly letter I send out to clients and friends. My point there was to talk about how some of us get so wrapped up in evaluating how our year went - good and bad - as well as thinking about all the great things we're going to accomplish in the coming year. Meanwhile, Christmas comes to tell us to ease up and re-focus on Jesus Christ - not on ourselves.

Anyway, it dawned on me that just because this is a Catholic blog doesn't mean that we Catholic men aren't subject to the same temptation to give short shrift to Our Lord even during this time of recognizing and celebrating His coming to live among us on that first Christmas. So instead of getting wrapped up in in proving ourselves, or worrying about proving ourselves, or struggling to accomplish some goal we've set for 2011, or even worrying about what we're going to do to support our families if we're out of work, let's try to keep Christmas while it's still with us.

Let's not forget that some of the most important things in our lives don't require us to prove or accomplish anything - just as Our Lord really didn't "accomplish anything" during His life here. You can click here to find out what I mean.

It's not that there aren't some of us facing difficult situations or even that there's anything wrong with striving and working hard to get things you really want. But there's so much more to our lives that we really shouldn't let get pushed off to the side. We Catholic men, of all people, should know that.