Dear St. Paul Family and Friends,

Last December 31st, instead of our Annual Year End Mass, Fr. Mike and I decided to shift the focus of the mass to healing. Although every mass is a healing mass, putting emphasis on the message of healing is very much needed. The year 2021 is a year filled with wounds and pains. Loved ones either got sick or were lost. Business and livelihoods were affected. Weddings and other celebrations were either cancelled or postponed. The usual family gatherings were limited, if not restricted. Our lives were disrupted. We got dismayed at many things. Our mental health was not in its best shape.

As we begin another year, we pray for healing. We leave behind the pains and hurts of the past and look forward to being renewed and refreshed by the grace of God. We bring with us the lessons of the past, and use them in making better decisions. We let go of the negativities and create a space for peace and forgiveness in our hearts. This prayer from Loyola Press can be helpful:

“God, thank you for a new year. May everyone in our family be willing to begin anew with a clean slate. We know that you are always ready to forgive us. Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive one another.

As we begin a new year, remind us of our truest values and our deepest desires. Help us to live in the goodness that comes from doing what you want us to do. Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time.”

Ultimately, the healing that we pray for is conversion. Our Gospel this weekend shows us the story of how the magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem looking for the newborn king of the Jews. They knew of the prophecy as it was written in the Book of Micah. They came with their own preconceived notion and understanding of who this newborn child would be for Israel. They found instead that the child is more than a King but God Incarnate. The Gospel says, “they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh… [and] they departed for their country by another way.”

Spiritual authors tell us that the change of route was not just geographical but spiritual. They changed their life paths. They came out of that encounter changed by God. Friends, allow God to change you and to make you new. Have a Blessed New Year, and be constantly assured of my prayers. Fr. Mike and I hold you dear in our hearts. We love you!