Happy New Year!!!

It is now 2011, a New Year and new beginnings.  As I looked on 2010, I was struck by the ebbs of the year...there was new hopes, traditions of long ago....there was new life and the loss of life... ....there was "hello's" and "good-byes"....but what struck me the most was the idea of the journey that we are all on....the journey of faith.

Today's readings from Luke 2:16-21 "the sheperds went in haste...and made known what they had heard...and all who heard these words were amazed"  Did we take note of what God was saying to us this past year?  Did I not listen to the angels or look for the star.....it is an unusual means to communicate but what blocks us from hearing the voice of God?

This New Year will bring many more ebbs of emotions, memories, and treasures to ponder....will I be ready to hear God from unusual sources and will my journey be a witness of the life I live?

It is my prayer that as this year unfolds that we ask God's blessing and grace to hear and receive the message for our journey....it will be a journey of faith...a journey of trust...but it will take to the place where only God wants us to be....safe travels friends.....Peace and Joy to all of you....Sister John Paul, O.S.B.