As 2006 comes to an end and 2007 dawns, we cannot help but enter the new year - as a nation and as citizens – with one foot in the old, so to speak.

We take with us the pleasant, even exciting and inspiring memories of 2006, like the Soca Warriors’ accomplishments in Germany, but we also carry over with us disturbing memories of the violence and the suffering that have marked the world and our nation over this period.

Here at home we find ourselves seemingly unable to rein in crime in a satisfactory manner.

And while the unemployment rate has been reported to be at its record lowest, the high prices of food and clothing deny many a respectable standard of living. Still, what we carry over need not be simply just so much baggage but experiences that gift us with a way of seeing that ought to prepare us for living in 2007.

It will be important therefore to make the best use of our experiences neither allowing them to fill us with discouragement nor behaving as though the past has been magically swept away.

Something in the human spirit invites us to approach every new year with resolve; this resolve will remain hollow – will not have the best outcome – without a special brand of courage.

In the popular understanding, a courageous person is someone who is able to face the present – and the future - with boldness, even though feeling trepidation and some uncertainty.

 The person with courage is a person with “heart.” Courage always suggests hope rather than hopelessness and says something here is worth the sacrifice.

Theologian Walter J Burghardt says of courage, it is “grace under pressure”, defining grace as particular gifts of God – some if which St Paul describes as the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy… patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith” (Galatians 5:22, 23). Courage is therefore about remaining open to these gifts in the midst of adversity.

Grounded in real hope

On New Year’s Day, as is the custom, the Church celebrates World Day of Peace and honours Mary as Mother of God. The Gospel presents Mary as a woman of faith but she is also an example of courage.

 In the Lucan account, Mary, the newborn babe and Joseph are joined by adoring shepherds. Mary seeks to make sense of all that has happened to her and around her. Says the evangelist: “As for Mary, she treasures all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Courage makes it possible for us to do the extraordinary thing. It means not being held captive by doubt and fear.

 It shows in the gang leader who risks his life for the sake of peace as it does in those who hold up a placard demanding the protection of the unborn or in those who give voice to persons whose rights are being threatened.

It is difficult to see how the average citizen can become comfortable with the particular evils that plague Trinidad and Tobago society today. Yet it will take a particular kind of resolve for citizens to remain vigilant, to do the right thing and to keep asking the difficult question.

Without the Christian virtue of courage however – one that is grounded in real hope and trusts in the power of the Holy Spirit – our attempts at change are likely to remain futile.

As we enter into 2007, one virtue that will need to take even greater root among us is courage.