Our Lady guides us all through the New Year

How appropriate to dedicate New Year’s Day to the Divine Maternity of Mary! It gives us the idea that we should be close to Mary if want the whole new year as an occasion to pursue our ultimate goal in life --to be like Christ until we become “alter Christus” (another Christ), if not “ipse Christus” (Christ himself), as we are meant to be.

In the gospel of the day, we are told about how Mary kept all the things she heard from the visiting shepherds and pondered them in her heart. (cfr. Lk 2,16-21) That is the proper attitude to have if we want to make Christ come alive in our lives. This is actually the real business we should be engaged in all throughout the year.

In this regard, we need to learn the art of pondering which we need to do if we are to at least sustain our sanity and keep pace with the rapidly-changing situations of life. Our problem is that we tend to avoid this basic function, perhaps not intentionally, and just fall into what some people say as “what comes naturally,” that is, to rely simply on instincts, common sense, and knee-jerk reactions.

We seem to be so pushed only by the rush of events, by excitements, by fads that without noticing it we are slowly losing dominion over our own life and affairs. We tend to renounce our duty to determine our own life and, instead, begin to depend on external factors. It looks like we are losing our freedom.

This state of affairs actually puts us into some vulnerable situations, especially these days when with all the rapid developments around, we need to be more discerning so as not to get confused and lost.

For example, in the field of technology, a big wave of new gadgets are now marketed, all giving out their great benefits. But we need to find out which one truly would fit us given our specific circumstances and conditions. This requires mulling things over.

Truth is we need to be with Christ always. There is no way we can have a life that is proper to us other than to be with Christ and to work with him. After all, Christ is actually the pattern of our humanity and the redeemer of our damaged humanity. We cannot be what we ought to be outside of Christ.

Without Christ, everything will be vanity. “Vanity of vanities,” as the Book of Ecclesiastes says. Without Christ, we would simply be falling into self-indulgence which can be mesmerizing for a while, and even a long while. But in the end, it would lead us nowhere.

This is a truth of faith that has to filter down to the ends of the world. We may have to do it slowly and with great effort, but also steadily, never stopping because of certain difficulties and resistance. To be sure, this is a truth of our nature, let alone, a truth of faith. Our nature is not just biological, social, etc. It is first of all spiritual that relates to the supernatural world in a knowing and loving way.

Remember Christ saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me.” Well, if Christ is the truth, then he is also freedom, since it is the truth that will set us free. (cfr. Jn 8,32)

In other words, we cannot be in the truth and be free if we are not with Christ. Let’s remember that truth and freedom are not self-generated things. They are not our inventions. They come from our Creator.