Merry Christmas! Yes, we are still in the Christmas season, even though liturgically the feast of Epiphany was celebrated on January 2nd this year. The birth of Christ so close to the calendar change gives us time to celebrate the awe and wonder of God becoming man and heralds to us start anew. 

The Son of God born of a woman gives His message a personal invitation. God isn’t shaking His finger from afar in judgment. He didn’t just show up as a fully grown man to tell us what to do. He came to live with us, starting the way we all start out: as a wee babe. It’s hard not to feel compassion for an infant. We hear the story of His nativity and rejoice with His parents, the shepherds, and the Magi. He gathers us into the story of His life — His mission, and we follow Him throughout His ministry. He changed the world with His life, death, and resurrection, but it all starts with Jesus being born in Bethlehem. He was at the beginning of creation, and becomes the beginning again with His nativity. 

The Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity of Jesus as an octave, that is eight days celebrating the feast as if each day is the feast itself. The eighth day of that feast just so happens to be January 1st, the first day of the new calendar year. How perfectly providential that we begin a new year — we begin again, as we are still celebrating the feast of Christmas! While any day and time is acceptable to change and start something new, to begin a change in January adds a sense of order to whatever change we are focusing on. It’s almost as if there is an energy that we can tap into to help us as we begin again. While some may call it a resolution, to “resolve” to change errant behaviors, I think if we embrace words like begin and start, the hopefulness those words bring can help support us in our changed ways. We also need to be cautious not to try to change too many things at once, as that can be overwhelming and hamper any progress. If we pick one thing to start, to begin again, and let that change lead us to other changes, we may find ourselves much more successful than we ever thought possible when we first started out. 

In these first days of January, while we finish celebrating the 12 days of Christmas (which started on December 25th), and end liturgically with the baptism of Jesus, let us pray for guidance as to what areas need a new beginning in our own lives. As we consider aspects of our spirit, mind and body, we can rest assured that no matter where we start, the other areas of our lives will be affected by beginning again. 

Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to begin again, and with the support of Blessed Mother Mary, please help me make the necessary changes in order to become the best version of myself.