New Year, New You

Making prayer a part of our daily life

01/13/2021

Mark 1:29-39 On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? Everyone would like the year 2021 to be a lot better than the year 2020. So, a solid and serious resolution might help that cause. I read in Good Housekeeping the other day some unusual suggestions for New Year’s resolutions. It was called “New Year, New You.” Rather the routine resolutions of diet and exercise, they suggested these good goals.

One, build a better budget, by making a vow to save more money. Now, that would have been a really great resolution if they had added, “Give more money to your church.” Secondly, they said, “Cook one new recipe each week.” Instead of cutting back on food, eat more food, but a variety that is more healthy. Third, they advised, read more books. I highly recommend three books by my favorite priest-author, called “Oh, for the Love of God,” “Oh, for Heaven’s Sake,” and “Oh, Lord Have Mercy.” Great reading.

Those are all great recommendations, but I was disappointed they did not include "increasing your prayer" life as a New Year’s resolution. Maybe they thought such a suggestion would offend their readers who are atheists. But if New Year’s resolutions are really designed to make you happy and whole, then they will all fall short without renewing our relationship with God. Why? Well, what makes human life meaningful and fulfilling is living for a higher purpose, and that higher purpose is doing God’s will rather than my own will.

We will not be able to perceive God’s will, however, without prayer. A great prayer, therefore, might be: “God, what do you think my New Year’s resolution should be?” Serious and sustained prayer helps us to know God’s will for our lives, which may or may not include building a new budget, cooking a new recipe each week, or reading more books, even mine. Prayer will make 2021 a new year and a new you.

In the gospel today Jesus’ life is also soaked through with serious prayer. Our Lord did not make prayer a New Year’s resolution, because it was always a seamless part of his spirituality, indeed, it was his very Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Mark tells us how Jesus practiced prayer: “Rising very early before dawn he left and went to a deserted place where he prayed.” Prayer was not Jesus’ New Year’s resolution, it was his New Day resolution.

Every day was like a new year for Jesus, where he recommitted himself to fulfilling God’s will in his life. In prayer Jesus received his “marching orders” for the day; hence he told his apostles “for this purpose I have come.” Prayer lifted our Lord’s human mind and heart to live for a higher purpose, that is, for a heavenly purpose, God’s will. In our Lord’s life we see the third petition of the Our Father in full flower: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

My friends, today is only January 13, and it is not too late for a New Year’s resolution. May I suggest this year you make serious prayer a seamless part of your life? Here are a few things I do, and maybe they will help you. Every day I try to pray the rosary. When I pray I do not sit in a chair or kneel in a kneeler, but I walk. That way I pray and get some exercise at the same time. Prayer penetrates my exercise routine.

Every time I get in my car to drive somewhere – the hospital, the grocery store, to your house for dinner – I say one Hail Mary for a safe journey. A trip across town comes under the purview of prayer. Every day at noon the church staff stops what we are doing to pray the Angelus. We lift up people, parishioners, in prayer. Prayer becomes a part of our workday. When the sirens blare from an ambulance, a fire engine or a police car, I whisper a Hail Mary for the first responders and whoever they are hurrying to help. Slowly prayer becomes a seamless part of our daily life until there is nothing we do that is not inspired by prayer.

I wonder if the protestors who had stormed the capitol building had started their protest with a prayer, perhaps it would have remained peaceful. If you cannot start something with a prayer you should probably not start it at all. Prayer helps us to live for a higher purpose, for God’s will. And only in that way, will this be a new year and a new you.

Praised be Jesus Christ!