Have you ever paused for a while to ponder what sort of life you are living? A great philosopher, Socrates, once said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” When we do not take time to take a step back and look at our lives, some of us may begin to find life mundane and some of us may even repeat the same mistakes made by others or even by ourselves, mistakes which could have been avoided if we had properly reflected and noted what has happened.
Today we are given the example of Mary, Mother of God, who as the Gospel tells us, “treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” In our frantic and frenzied efforts to celebrate this New Year with a bang, we sometimes forget to follow the example of Mary to treasure and give thanks for all the things we have received in the past year and to ponder on where God is leading us. We need to reflect on one’s life because it is only through reflection and prayer that we will understand God’s plan for us. God is our constant guide who continually speaks to us, and if we do not take time to pray and reflect, we may find ourselves moving from one activity to another, possibly aimlessly and without purpose. It is only with prayer and reflection that we can come to recognise God’s presence in many different life’s situations.
As we celebrate this New Year, let us cast off our old ways, our bad habits, our selfishness, and put on the ways of Christ. Some of us like to make New Year resolutions, but making such New Year resolutions is pointless, if we do not evaluate from time to time how far we have progressed, and seek God’s guidance to help us get back onto the right track. Change can come into our lives and in the lives of the community around us, if we are willing to imitate Mary and take time to treasure all these things and ponder them in our hearts. Are we willing to make the change happen this year?