At the outset of a New Year, many of us made short-lived resolutions to lose weight, manage our time better, and the like. There is nothing wrong with these resolutions.

But a truly life-changing resolution is to challenge ourselves to be men and women who long for the blessed life, who truly seek the friendship of God and companionship with the Saints.

Many of us, I suspect, have this goal buried somewhere deep in our souls. It may be even harder to reveal these days when we feel discouraged or threatened by the encircling gloom of a global economy that is likely to be troubled for a long time to come.

The resolution I am proposing would take the goal of eternal life out of mothballs and move it to the forefront of our awareness. It will change how we look at daily life.

And as we grow in hope, we will also make another discovery. It won’t be ready-made answers to the serious short- and long-term problems that confront us, but rather the awareness of a Presence – the Presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.

It is a compassionate Presence – not meaning that God simply overlooks what needs to change in our lives, especially our sins. Rather, it means that, in Christ, God demonstrates His amazing capacity to be with us and to suffer with us, to empathize with us in order to purify our hearts, to make them capable of His pure unbounded love.

Seen in this light, the struggle of daily life is more than a wearisome routine. Life becomes instead a crucible for spiritual greatness, the greatness of the Saints who did not merely dream of friendship with God but acted on the faith, hope, and love that had been planted in their souls at Baptism.

It is, moreover, a life lived for others. We will model for one another in this New Year the deferential charity we are called to share with the poor and needy, reminding one another about the Gospel paradox that it is in giving that we receive.

A Happy and Blessed New Year to one and all!