Happy 2021.

Welcome to the new year. Many, if not most of you, are probably thinking: “This new year cannot be worse than the last one. So, let’s bring it on and hope for a better tomorrow when we can all get back to normal.”

This is wishful thinking. We need to be practical, and we need to be responsible. As we begin the new year, let’s reflect on our new year’s resolutions, but let’s make them count.

Every year has its own challenges. Last year’s pandemic problems were seismic; we may never see anything like them again. We are hopeful, however, that the newly developed vaccines (as more and more people get them) will provide the protection needed to avoid corvid-19 from spreading. But this coronavirus pandemic is still with us. The number of cases in the United States alone ( over 20 million ) and the number of deaths caused by covid-19 ( approx. 350,000 ) continue to rise. The pandemic also continues to cause chaos, creating enormous financial and medical problems, worldwide.

So, what can we do in 2021? What part can we play, by learning from last year, to stop the spread of this awful disease while awaiting the vaccines? Here are some things we can do :

1. Each of us can heed the advice of scientists to wear masks at all times when in public, and to practice social distancing.
2. We can follow, collectively, the challenge of our President-elect to wear masks for 100 days to slow the spread of the disease.
3. We owe it to each other to care for each other, and to put these safety measures into practice for the wellbeing of our neighbors, communities, cities, and country. We are all in this together, and doing what we need to do together, can defeat this virus.

The God we believe in is a God we encounter in our time. In time we encounter God, and in time God encounters us. This past year, tragic though it was, gave rise to incredible acts of self-giving. People everywhere, in hospitals and in nursing homes, for example, literally sacrificed their lives to save those infected by covid-19. We should never lose sight of those sacrifices which saved so many lives. We should never lose sight either of the lessons we learnt in 2020 about racial discrimination and inequality in our world.

During this new year, we ought to embrace the spirit of heroic sacrifice of those in 2020 who labored so hard to stop the spread of covid-19.

We are given an opportune time this new year to celebrate the gift of life God has given us. If you are reading this message, it means you are alive and have been privileged to survive the threat to your life of covid-19. Be grateful. Now, right now, is your time to shine. As the song goes, “the best of times is now.” Now is the time to understand that “there is a time and season for everything under the heavens” ( Ecclesiastes 3 ). Relish the challenge of the new year to make a difference by loving one another, and by helping each other get over covid-19.

Think abut it! The only time that is truly yours and mine is this time; right now, where we are. There are many wonderful things that uplift the human spirit, and inspire us to keep going. Things such as the wisdom of the bible, great works of literature, music, poetry, song, dance, architecture, painting, drama, travel, and ballet. But, the greatest achievement of all is the art of living which improves the quality of your day, creates harmony in your life, and brings to the fore the powers of faith, hope, and love.

During this New Year, take time to improve the quality of your life by making time for those around you, and by being a friend to anyone in need or to anyone who has no friends.

Time spent like this is never a waste of time. It is of the essence, and this new year is a good time to put this resolution into practice.

Wishing all my friends and readers out there a blessed New Year. May we learn from the mistakes of 2020 to respect the laws of nature and the natural boundaries protecting different species in our planet. May we work to save our world from the dangers of climate change, and may we work assiduously to promote peace and harmony among the brotherhood of mankind.

May we experience a new Epiphany, as children of the light, guided by the star of Truth.

Happy New Year : 2021.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy