Welcome to one of the best years of your life!!! This greeting might sound outrageous to some, but I genuinely believe it to be so! I believe that if we choose to center our lives and our attitudes in Jesus, this can be one if not the greatest year of our lives. This can be true even if COVID does not disappear like the Spanish Flu, even if the social upheaval does not just settle down, and even if we ourselves must deal with our own sickness or that of a loved one due to COVID or some other medical problem.

How can this be, you ask? If this life is truly about entering into a deeper encounter with the living God, and I am open to that encounter, regardless of the circumstances, God will see us through. He will help us grow in TRUST and FAITH that will help us to receive the joy and peace only He can give and sustain.

I have experienced this in my own life and witnessed it in many who struggle financially, with mental illness, with their own sickness or that of a loved one, and even from the dying. What lessons have I learned from them? Pray ceaselessly in all circumstances. Praise the Lord for all the goods of each day, make constant acts of trust (Jesus, I trust in you, help my lack of trust), read the scriptures every day, and receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as often as you can.

The more we stay centered in Christ, the more prepared we will be to face all circumstances with peace and joy.

Your brother and father in Christ,

Fr. Scott