HAPPY NEW YEAR TWO TIMES

Many people say 'Happy New Year' twice as they welcome TWO different years.

Celebrating two different New Year's Day and then living in these two entire years at the same time seems odd and even absurd to many. Yet this is exactly what Catholic and other Christians do!

We have just begun TWO NEW YEARS. We began one of them, the new CHURCH YEAR on the First Sunday of Advent. A month later on January 1st, we joined all humanity and began the New Year also called the Solar or Secular New Year.

This reminds me of a hit tune of 1956 - 'Two Different Worlds'. We live in two different worlds. Yes - we believers live in TWO different worlds, but these two years coincides and intersect because they are joined at the hip in TIME.

Believers in Christ welcome and enter into the entire New Church Year because they are citizens of the Kingdom of God. They also welcome and enter into the entire Solar New Year because they are citizens of this world.

Both YEARS are a gift of time for us to become more effective and happy citizens of this world and the Kingdom of God. In both years we have one thing in common: TIME.

When we began this new Church Year in Advent, St. Paul's words to the Romans fired us up to make a new beginning: "You know the time it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh".

Paul knew that 'time' is precious. As we age, time seems jet propelled. Each year is a 'once' in our lifetime. It never returns. We cannot do it over. We get one shot at both these vital years. Yet each year is a precious gift of time becoming the stuff of eternity.

TIME reminds me of another hit song from the 1942 movie, Casablanca. In Rick's Café Elsa asks the pianist: "Play it again, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'. The song's last line is timely - 'The fundamental things apply, as time goes by'.

The basics for citizens of this world and the Kingdom of God accompanied us into the New Years. Like an overture to opera or preface to a book or the preamble to our Constitution. The first month was centered on the Coming of Christ during Advent and the Birth of Christ in US! No wonder we could on January 1st be MORE happy and say Happy New Year. We were not just the same as before because for four weeks of Advent we had opened our minds and hearts and lives for Christ to be born in us more than ever. We had a real JUMP START.

Our life in Christ and with others will continue as we follow our Savior in all the events of the New Church. What happened in the New Adam will happen in us. The year 2008 will truly become a Year of Our Lord. HOW?

On January 1st - the Church shows us HOW. The first believer in Jesus shows us HOW. The first one to bring Jesus into the world shows us HOW! The first one to follow Him totally shows us HOW! The first one to enter into eternal glory shows us HOW. Mary, the Mother of Jesus and his members the Church shows us HOW!!

On two occasions St Luke's Gospel tells us HOW Mary did it. After his account of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Luke writes: "MARY treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart" (Luke 2,19).

After his account of the twelve year old Jesus, found in the temple of Jerusalem, Luke adds: "His mother kept all these things in her memory" (Luke 2,51).

Thus Mary's journey of Faith continues and so does ours in time.

The entire Church does what Mary did - remembers and reflects on the Word of God who is a person - Jesus and all of his words. In each Church Year we remember each event in the life of our Savior so these can happen in us and we can be transformed into men and women of God. Jesus whom we remember is present in Word and sacrament and believers and brings about in us all that we remember.

Thus the one year - the Church Year transforms the Solar Year into a Year of Our Lord.