"The Gate of the Year"

Another year is in the books!  It is really hard for me to believe that 2016 is over and that we are already in the year 2017.  My oldest daughter last week asked each of us at the dinner table what was the best part of the past year.  As we looked back, a lot happened for us this past year.  My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  We bought a new house, sold our old house, and moved (in that order).  There were several family trips, several college tours, and several visits with friends and family.  All things considered, it was a pretty good year for our family, even if it was a difficult year for our country (indeed, our world).

I have always been fascinated by the New Year's holiday.  The start of a new year is a chance to reset, refresh, re-focus, and re-energize.  The start of a new year is an opportunity to look back on what was accomplished in the past 12 months, as well as what was not accomplished.  The start of a new year is a time to set goals for the next 12 months.  With this in mind, there are a few goals that I set last year that I attained, as well as a few that I failed to reach.  One of my goals was to start a blog - check!  Although I slacked off after a good start last January, I think I ended up the year with a good finish.  Writing is something I enjoy, and this blog has been a great chance for me to practice my writing skills and reflect on things that I have heard and learned. 

I have read a lot of articles, blog posts, and editorials in the past couple of days looking forward to the end of what many would say has been a bad year.  We - all of us around the world - have been through a lot this last year, and some would argue that our best days are behind us now.  Quite the contrary, I look forward to the next year with faith in humanity, a hope for peace, and a love for one another.  There is no doubt that we have our differences, but I firmly believe that the bonds that we share are stronger than our differences.  There is more that unites us than separates us.  We have more reasons to be optimistic than pessimistic. 

Today at Mass, our priest read a passage from a speech by King George VI.  The year was 1939, and England was on the brink of defeat.  England had declared war on Nazi Germany in September, shortly after Germany had invaded Poland.  It was tradition for the King to address the British Empire at the start of a New Year.  As immortalized in the 2011 movie, "The King's Speech", King George VI hated public speaking - indeed, it terrified him.  He had dealt with a speech impediment for his entire life, and he was naturally shy, introverted, and reserved.  In fact, he had reluctantly become King only when his older brother David had abdicated the throne.  He delivered a speech by radio on Christmas Eve from the royal country home at Sandringham:

A new year is at hand. We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continued struggle we shall remain undaunted.

He then read a passage from a poem that his daughter, Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen of England), had given him.  The poem is called "The Gate of the Year" or "God Knows" and was written by the British poet, Minnie Louise Haskins. 

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

The speech united the nation in a common cause.  The speech inspired a nation to continue the struggle for freedom.  As our priest said today, let us too, at the start of the new year, 2017, put our hand into the Hand of God and find our way.