a new year

of hope

2011 seemed like a very tough year for many of my friends and for myself. If there was nothing going on personally, the world offered its own sadness. This time last year the rains of Queensland were starting a disaster, that I wonder if we remember in our busy lives, since the media coverage died. Starting on home soil, it triggering a domino effect throughout the year of human suffering from nature.

While the 12 minutes of fireworks introduced it, a single prayer caught my hope for the new year. Father read it today at the end of service, the 1st January 2012 and I thought about all the promises I didn't keep since hearing it exactly one year ago. I thought about how quickly I forgot that the Lord governs and is beside us in all things. But I remembered a feeling, and that was of a fragile hope of the heart, that our loving Father can only know and hold in His hands. Here is the prayer that reminded me, I have a new page I can start on from today:

"O Lord our God, who have placed times and seasons under your own authority; Who, in your infinite compassion and goodness, have counted us worthy to enter a new year of your loving kindness, bless it and keep us in peace.

Loose, remit and forgive any sins that we have commited during the year that is past, and keep us free from sin in the new year.

Enlighten us with the light of your truth and your divine commandments. 

Establish in our souls your holy will, and guide us to every work that is good and pleasing to you.

Guard well our holy Church with your divine grace.

Remember, Lord, our nation; train up the youth; protect the elderly; encourage the faint-hearted; gather the scattered; bring back those who have gone astray, and reunite them to your holy Church.

Overshadow our land with your might, and grant it gentle rain and abundance of the fruits of the earth.

Speak of goodness in the hearts of your rulers; support and strengthen them, together with our armed forces by land, sea or air.

Let your kingdom come upon us, O Lord; the kingdom of love, goodness, peace and justice; and make us worthy to praise and glorify, with one mouth and one heart, your most honorable and majestic name, of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.

Amen. "