In a few days, a New Year will be celebrated throughout the world. The people of the global community will have the opportunity to use the occasion “to begin again”.

They will have the option of realistic goal-setting that will allow them to end 2008 in a holistically better position than they ended 2007.

Unfortunately, the truth is that after the fireworks and parties are over, most people will not take advantage of the opportunity “to begin again”. Most people will just continue to live in the same manner as they have lived during the past year.

That apparent lack of willingness to grow is not necessarily culpable. Some people simply feel trapped by a lack of realistic life options. Other people are broken in spirit – no matter what they try they cannot break out of the cycle of poverty and frustration. So they cannot generate the energy to face a New Year in a positive manner.

Finally, there are those who are habitually unmotivated to change or grow. Caring for all these categories of people and giving them hope is the responsibility of the entire community both Church and State.

The good news is that a fair percentage of people will try to take advantage of every opportunity the New Year offers: opportunities for personal and spiritual growth, for involvement in community and for participating in exciting, life-giving experiences that are compatible with Gospel values.

Let us look at some helpful starters for the New Year.

1) Renewing Commitments

Most people find meaning in life from the relationships and responsibilities that flow from their primary vocational commitments i.e. the chosen single life, the married life, the consecrated life (monastic or apostolic religious communities) and the clerical life (bishop, priest, deacon).

Ecclesial communities are the primary vocations for some people and, frequently, also include members who follow one of the traditional vocational categories.

“To Begin Again” in 2008 as a believer requires that each of us reaffirms our commitment to the Lord that flows from our primary vocation.

The tradition in many religious communities for centuries was that New Year’s Day was a retreat day for the community. The reason for the tradition was to help the religious enter the New Year renewed and committed.

With all the entertaining and visiting that goes on during the Christmas cycle of the liturgical year, it is not realistic to expect many people to make a retreat on New Year’s Day.

However, it is still a good idea to find the quiet time “to begin again” in the New Year with an explicit renewal of commitment to the relationships and responsibilities that flow from our primary vocations.

2) Spirituality

The formula for sustaining our commitments after they have been renewed is an ever deepening spirituality that continually places us in relationship with God and keeps us in contact with the sources of our faith.

Daily prayer and daily reflective reading of sources approved by the Catholic Tradition e.g. Scripture, Church documents, the lives of the saints, books on spirituality all feed us and help us keep a faith perspective alive no matter what we do.

The operative word is daily. The truth is that prayer should be part of our lives many times during each day. The periods of prayer do not have to be long but they have to be persevering.

I recommend a reflective reading of Part Four of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which considers Christian Prayer during the first month of the New Year.

3) The Calls Within the Call

The heading needs a word of explanation. The “Call” means one’s primary vocation. The “Calls within the Call” refer to the many opportunities of community involvement and service that are available to people which are compatible with their primary vocation.

Most Christians who are serious about spirituality are involved in commitments beyond their primary vocations. They serve in formal ministries, in community-building ventures of Church or State or they are involved in serving others through private sector or NGO based operations.

There is a question of prudence involved in these commitments. It is true that the service of others protects us from emptiness and motivates us to develop our talents so our service is quality.

However, too many commitments can wear us down and even undermine our primary vocations. Consequently, faith-based generosity must be balanced by prudence.

4) Witness

As believers, we try to follow the teaching of Scripture that we do not live our lives to be seen. Yet when our spirituality is authentic and our ministry and service flow from charity, the witness of our lives can touch and influence the lives of others in very positive ways.

The RCIA programme proves this point. People enter the programme because they have been touched by the witness of Catholic people.

One model of witness that we are trying to establish in the archdiocese is witness to a spirituality of communion and solidarity in which all the vocations in the Church work together to evangelise and build Church. The witness of all the vocations in the Church collaborating in dialogue, planning and implementation is life-giving.

It encourages the participation of many people who are presently not involved in the mission of the Church. As a New Year begins, all of us should humbly evaluate the quality of the witness of our lives and open ourselves to be influenced by the positive example of others.

Conclusion

These four starters for the New Year are practical ways “To Begin Again”. I ask respectfully that each member of the Archdiocese seriously consider these starters as we open a New Year.

I look forward to 2008 as a year of opportunity, of growth, of Synod in which the confidence of the archdiocese will continue to build in intensity. I hope that many others in the archdiocese share my optimism.

A grace filled New Year to all!