Starting the New Year with Mary

As we begin the New Year, the Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. We can learn from Mary some ways to begin the New Year right. In her life, Mary shows the
3 Rs which can be helpful in starting the New Year: Reflectiveness, Responsiveness, Readiness

Reflectiveness: Twice in his infancy narrative, Luke speaks of how Mary "treasured these things in her heart and pondered on them." Here, we see Mary reflecting on her experiences. She does not simply let them pass unnoticed, unexamined. She pauses to see how the Lord
has been moving in her life. It would certainly profit us to reflect on our experiences of the past year, and of our life so far and see how God has been moving in our life.

Responsiveness: Rather than being reactive, we may try to be more responsiveness this coming year. This means not just waiting for things to happen and react on them, oftentimes on impulse. With Mary' s example, we can be more pro-active and responsive to the events that unfold in our life.

Readiness: In the end, Mary submits to the will of God. She is ready to place herself at the disposal of God, confident in God's power to carry our his plans and to make use of the simple gift of Mary's self in realizing the grand plan to save mankind. We also pray that the coming year will find us ever more ready to do the will of God: "Be it done to me as you say."

Happy New Year!