Blog & Pastor Letters

The End of the Year and the Beginning of Another

01-02-2022Weekly ReflectionRev. Victor C. Yakubu

The month of December has come and gone. The world did not end. Or at least we are still here moving around. The Mayans are gone and the calendar they left for us is hard to interpret. What can we say? A year comes in, and a year goes out, that is how life works. Such has been the cycle of life right from the creation of man. What has a beginning must have an end. The year 2021 has ended and we must brace up to delve into a new year with hope of better things to come.

I enjoyed the Christmas celebration at St. Mary. The Masses were solemn and the beauty of coming together to pray cannot be quantified in silver and gold. The sense of community brings out the solidarity that signifies Christmas as a very important feast in the life of the Church. When families come around the table to eat a meal, it shows their love for sharing what God has given them; fruits of the earth to be eaten for nourishment of body and soul. Above all, we extend our love for each other by the laughter and the smiles we share as one family.

Coincidentally, I bought a book last week entitled Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi (with Tahl Raz) in which the author discusses the success of business by building relationships. The family is one place to build stronger, durable, and trusted relationships that can stand the test of time. Imagine the frustrations we all pass through in our lives and then we have no one to fall back to. It could be double jeopardy if there’s no one to listen, to admonish and to counsel. But family is always there to offer support and encourage us along the path of life.

The year 2021 has had the good, the bad and the ugly for all of us. For me, the coming to St. Mary is my good; the loss of my grandma is my bad and being far away from family is the ugly. We remember the victims of Sandy hurricane in the east coast. The devastation and the loss of homes and businesses cannot be compared to the loss of lives. The shootings this year bring bad memories to all of us. The Aurora CL shootings were devastating. And when we thought the year will end on a beautiful note, the Newport CT shootings of 20 innocent children and 8 adults including the shooter.

This is not a chronological rendition of the events of this year but the sad reality. There were other shootings that sometimes you wonder, why all these shootings? What has become of our young people? Is there no forum to be heard other than using violent means to express hurt? Endless questions and no answers. Yet there ought to be caution in the laws governing gun control because bad guys will always seek bad means of exerting pain on their targets. The answer lies in the formation of our hearts. Guns do not shoot people. It is people that shoot other people with guns. Guns need good heads and passionate hearts to be carried around and when to apply them to avoid reckless usage.

Americans should not allow a president or politicians to dictate to them about their God. We cannot keep God out of the picture of our lives. God is part of our lives. We need God to form our children’s hearts to be compassionate and caring and loving. Don’t get me wrong. I cannot be condemnatory in the way children are raised. So much energy is put in this regard. I see how parents spare their time to be with their children. I commend the sacrifices that parents offer to their children. The knowledge they impact on them and the expectations of a great tomorrow. To compliment all these, let’s put God in the right place by teaching our children the power of one we cannot see, His influence in our lives to overcome any bad situation and turn our fears into blessings. This is my prayer for you and your family as the year gets to an end, that we be more of God and less of fame and success.

As we enter 2022, let’s hope for the best. Remember the cycle of life; we are refreshed by our beliefs to continue with life by holding unto those things that make us human. God is paramount in the pursuit of a better tomorrow. And on that note, I urge you to never eat alone, seek the help of a friend over a cup of coffee, get great counsel over a dinner meal and remember to smile at lunch always because good the light of God shines on those who show solidarity. The Mayans calendar may have failed, but in the calendar of God, the year 2022 is written in gold and it’s yours. Keep praying!

BACK TO LIST