To all my readers, I wish you a happy and healthy New Year, 2022.

Let us be clear about this: 2021 has not been a good year for us or for our planet. We are living in a dangerous place at the moment. The plague of Covid-19 has come charging back with a more contagious variant. It is not as deadly, we’re told, as the earlier strains, but the number of hospitalizations has increased, and is overburdening the medical system, worldwide. Need I mention the terrifying climactic changes to our environment this past year: the loss of lives from wildfires, tornados, cyclones, and floods? We cannot be complacent nor can we afford to ignore the suffering of our poorer brothers and sisters, worldwide, who need to live dignified human lives.

God has implanted in our hearts an instinct to take care of ourselves and the environment he has entrusted to us. Fortunately, many courageous people have been stepping forward this past year to highlight the ravages of gun violence in our cities, to alert us to the effects of climate change worldwide, and to speak out against the grind of poverty on the helpless. These prophetic voices are good news in spite of all the bad news.

The question, however, is… what are you going to do in 2022?

1. I think you need to begin with yourself. You don’t have to flit around the world attempting to solve all its problems. Bloom where you are planted. A weed is nothing more than a flower or plant out of place. Find your own place where you can do the most good. Put God and his kingdom of truth and justice first in your life and everything else will fall into place ( Matthew 6 : 33 ).
2. Secondly, make your environment, your surroundings, a better place to live in and to work in. The greatest problem we face is apathy when good people do nothing but stand idly by while things crumble around them. You matter, and you can make a difference. So, don’t just talk. Do something, and surprise yourself.
3. Cultivate a spirit of peace in your life. Who among us does not want peace? If you are living with regret, you are living in the past. If you are living with anxiety, you are living in the future. But, if you are at peace you are living in the present. Cultivate this gift by living in the present. As this New Year dawns, the voices of people of good will are calling us to peace. These voices are mere words and idle rhetoric unless you find peace within yourself and are able to live in peace with one another.

We are living in a society made up of different cultures and beliefs. People of different cultures and beliefs are reading these messages. It is wonderful when people of different backgrounds and beliefs draw closer together. We have so much in common. We are all searching for the truth, and for good news that binds us together, in spite of our differences. Let us begin with ourselves this new year by becoming better people, by reaching out to others and helping them. Whenever you reach out to feed the hungry, whenever you clothe the naked, whenever you give drink to the thirsty, and whenever you help those in need, you are putting into practice the good news of the Gospel, and by this you will be known as a follower of Christ (Matthew 25:31-46).

You can start your new year by helping someone in need. It could be a family member, it could be a neighbor, it could be a charitable organization that helps the poor. We cannot solve all of the world’s problems, but we can make a difference when we do our part in our own environment and where necessary, in other parts of the world, to help our brothers and sisters in need. Whatever the new year brings, even it is no better and even worse than the last one, remember “that all things work together for good to those who love God”( Romans 8 : 28 ). Pray for the grace to handle whatever comes your way, be it good or bad, in the proper spirit, knowing that God who often writes straight with crooked lines will make everything right.

Cherish the beautiful gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love that draw you closer to your Maker who loves all things both great and small.

May you always take care of one another and be at Peace.

A happy and peaceful 2022 to you.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy