Raise a toast. Stay up for the fireworks. Kiss someone near. Hug the dog. Guzzle the egg nog. The New Year has arrived. Settle into a favorite chair and praise God that you have made it to this point in human time. Reach into the sparkling night sky and watch a few glittering planets on their quiet journey just like our Earth is doing right now. The cosmos is timeless and God hovers within and around all of it smiling at our excitement of having completed one year and starting another.
Many of us are not quite so satisfied with 2025 if illness and death claimed our spiritual equilibrium. We may be in mourning. We may be fearful. We may have endured losses too impossible to fathom let alone overcome. We may be questioning God. We may be wondering where is the person we lost. Perhaps the person we lost is oneself.
The cataclysmic divisions among and within nations and the resulting fallout within our families and our circle of friends, only adds to our discomfort, our yearning for civil understanding and peace.
Here’s a nice big word for you: Shehecheyanu. It’s a Hebrew word describing the Jewish “practice of praying a blessing for new and special experiences, a prayerful blessing whenever there is the realization of the miracle and sacrament of the present moment,” says Janet Schaeffler, OP, in her recent advent pamphlet. The prayer says: “Blessed are You, the Lord our God, who has given us life, sustained us and allowed us to arrive at this moment.” Right now, on New Years, we are in such a sacramental moment. Despite the evil of the times, we need to see, according to Shehecheyanu, that “every moment is new, unparalleled, and exceptional.” Yes, every moment. The sad ones, the happy ones, the fleeting ones. Each makes a part of the history of an individual life. The New Year offers an opportunity to make holy the events of the past year that were difficult for us by lifting them as a holy offering to a God of beneficence. At the same time, the New Year should prompt us to remember the events that were joyous and fulfilling in 2025. Praise God for those gifts. And promise to put them to good use for others. In doing this you are practicing Shehecheyanu; you are sanctifying the moment. You cannot leave out an event that impacted you in some way, be it sad, happy, challenging, or fruitful. God wants us to acknowledge everything that has come our way in the past year and to be prepared for what will happen in the coming year.
It occurred to me that a traditional folk song we all know, Auld Lange Syne, is another inspiration to reflect on this New Year. Attributed to Scottish poet, Robert Burns, the piece is actually a folk tune which Burns found and finessed into the musical poem we sing today on New Year’s Eve. The lines, “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne,” mean we will raise our glass to the memory of those we loved who have gone before us— ‘old long since,’ or ‘auld lang syne.’ We cannot forget anyone. It is kindness to bring them into this moment to be with us as we celebrate our living and as we acknowledge their lives. This song is mellow and quite moving but not as a solemn piece but as a reflective piece while we fill our cup with kind thoughts of those who have gone before us. And, yes, we can mix their memory with good ale!!
Finally, in the determined effort you are making for that list of resolutions all or some of which will make you feel better about yourself and your spiritual and physical growth, I recommend the following wise advice. You may have to tweak it depending on where you live but I have found it very helpful.
Advice from a PENGUIN
Dive into life
Find warmth among friends
Appreciate snow days
Take long walks
Stand together
Go the extra mile
Keep your cool!
Start the new year by doing something different. I suggest you might keep a Calendar of Wonder for one month (or more.) “Write, draw, or take a photograph of a wondrous sign of Jesus’ presence with you. Be alert for some you may have missed in the past.” (Schaffler, OP, The Season of Comfort and Hope, Advent 2025.)
You will be amazed at what you will see, hear, and feel through this exercise. It will possibly give you a wonderful 2026.
Happy New Year to all of you, my faithful readers. Pray for the strength to take on the coming year with gusto and the joy of life. Make every moment a prayer of gratitude.
In All Things Charity 
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