New Year - A Time for Retrospection
By Fr. K.K. John

“If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation,” 2Cor 5:17.

We are, by the grace of God, once again in the threshold of a new year according to English calendar. People are more interested in secular New Year than Church New Year because of the celebrations. Today’s celebrations are mostly drunken stupor adapting westerners.

But there is deeper meaning to it. “January” is derived from pagan Roman god of the beginning, “Janus”. Thus January became beginning of the year. Specialty of Janus is, he has two heads and four eyes. When one faces front the other faces back. This myth has a special meaning. He can look back and forward at the same time. So it is intended that on this day people look back and evaluate what happened in the past and look forward to future with added determination, vigor and hope.

We all are familiar that every business takes inventory, prepares balance sheet and assesses profit and lose at the end of each fiscal year. They will also rectify pitfalls of the past and to go forward profitably. The same measure is needed in our personal life too.

Firstly, we ought to consider countless favors that we received from God, which in our frailty, forgot to count. Our life itself is a gift of God and need be thankful for our very existence, Ps 116:12. When we consider manifold blessings we received from God we will have no difficulty to hopefully trust in God for all our future needs.

Secondly, we ought to evaluate where we failed and explore reasons for such failures and take remedial measures to prevent recurrence. Crumbled relationship and perennial despair, despite social advancements, are special features of our time. Failure is a stepping-stone to success. St Paul strengthens us, “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize,” Phil 3: 13-14.

Let us go forward with prayer, “Lord guide my each step. Renew me each day. Guard me from dangers, profanity, immorality, gossip, injustice, and all that prevent me from Your grace. Help me to discern greater values and esteem others better than me.

May your New Year day happiness linger thought out the year.

See Also:

Year End Thanksgiving to God
We have reached the end of the year. It is a time to express our thanks to God for the great things he has done this past year.