On New Year’s Eve we are all excited about our resolutions and promises to make this year the best yet. Well, it’s almost the end of January and how many of us have stuck to our resolutions? In my opinion, that’s the problem with resolutions; they are hard to keep. In fact, they may even cause us more stress because we set our expectations so high and then when we don’t keep our resolutions we feel like a failure. Resolution sounds a lot like the big “c” word – commitment and we all know that we don’t have time to commit to one more activity in our busy lives. In fact, the very word “resolution” actually means “to make a firm decision to do or not do something or the action of solving a problem.” Thus, to set a resolution each year declares that there is something broken in our lives and we need to fix it.

As 2016 begins, I have been thinking a lot about solidarity. It’s such a vital part of our Catholic identity. Jesus taught us by word and action what it means to stand with our brothers and sisters—especially those in need—who are not part of our inner circle. And our own U.S. Catholic Bishops call solidarity one of the seven basic foundations of Catholic social teaching. Yet there is so much division in our world and in our country—between countries and continents, between people of different races or religious beliefs, between political parties, between conservatives and liberals, even between neighbors and neighborhoods. It makes me wonder how often we as Church and as individuals practice solidarity. How are we teaching and modeling this virtue in our ministry?

I belong to a Facebook group with neighbors and friends from when I was growing up. It’s specific – you had to grow up in the 70’s and 80’s between Summit and Prairie Avenue between 8th and 9th street in Sioux Falls South Dakota.

It’s Advent, and as we are preparing for Christmas, we’re probably also thinking about our ministry in the coming year. What new things do we want to try? Where do we want to go deeper? What will really work in reaching youth today?

There's much excitement and anticipation for the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy.  The Holy Father will begin the Jubilee Year by opening the Holy Doors on December 8, 2015.  With lots happening around us, be sure to set some time aside to discern how we will personally live out this Year of Mercy.

Well, that’s exactly what just happened! Last month a very significant event quietly occurred in the United States. I say “quiet” because as amazing as this event was, there was hardly any media recognition about it. In October of 2015, Nobel Peace Laureates, religious leaders, global thinkers, and interfaith activists gathered in Salt Lake City for the Parliament of the World’s Religions (Congress of the Religions). The Parliament is the oldest (1893), the largest, and the most inclusive gathering of people of all faith and traditions. Traditionally, the Parliament occurs every five years. This year 10,000 people, 80 nations, and 50 different faiths came together to learn, dialogue, and pray with each other.

Photo by Leticia Bertin on Flickr

If ever there was an opportunity for us to celebrate and be grateful for God’s mercy and compassion and forgiveness, it’s now. Carpe diem! Seize the day! Since Pope Francis announced a Jubilee Year of Mercy beginning December 8th on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and ending on November 20th of 2016, we’ve probably all been thinking about how we can weave the theme of mercy into our evangelization and catechesis. But before we get there, maybe there’s a preliminary step!

I think the first thing I need to keep in mind is to not create ways I can use the Jubilee Year of Mercy in my ministry. (That will come later.) I believe Pope Francis is calling me to show mercy myself. I have the audacity to pray the Lord’s Prayer every day. Sometimes I don’t pay attention to the fact that I am asking God to forgive me only to the degree I forgive others. No more, no less. It’s a scary thought. I am certain I’d rather be judged by God than by me. So perhaps the best way I can enter into the Year of Mercy is to become a person of mercy, to forgive, to offer mercy when I really want justice, and to have a more compassionate heart. What do you think?

With Pope Francis’s visit to the United States just a happy memory for us – what things will stick with us? For many, it was his vision of caring for our common home – his hope for the earth. I have to admit that I was so excited to hear Catholic social teaching talked about on the major networks, explained by news anchors, and discussed by panels of experts and television personalities. It was amazing actually. Even if people didn’t agree on things – they were talking. I really think that’s what an encyclical should do - get people talking, opening the channels for dialogue and making people pay a little more attention to issues.

With less than a year away to World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, the excitement and anticipation for this world gathering is mounting.  The recent Holy Father's apostolic visit to the U.S. has also revved up the excitement among the young Church.  

It was just last week I found photos of my first World Youth Day in August 2011 in Madrid.  I reminisced of the pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Madrid with the great group of people from the Diocese of Brownsville (TX). It was my first international travel overseas and I was really excited. The week prior to the World Youth Day was spent visiting the beautiful sites of Lisbon, Fatima, Porto, Santiago de Compostela, Avila and Toledo. During the week of World Youth Day, the city buzzed with excitement for all the celebrations and most especially the Holy Father’s visit.

Though long lines and cold cuts sometimes conjure up my memories of World Youth Day, it’s normally images of large crowds of excited people clamoring to see the Pope. It was undoubtedly a powerful experience of pilgrimage, prayer, and community.  It also provided a glimpse of how large and diverse the Church is.  It's with the same excitement that I look forward to heading out to Krakow next year and celebrating the national celebration of World Youth Day next month on October 25, 2015.

“In Jesus, we meet a God who reaches out to us, who creates communion and invites us to share in his joy. We are made in God’s image and called to communion with him and each other. This love gives purpose and shape to all aspects of human life, including the family.”