Moving On…
The problem with the holidays is that sooner or later they must come to an end. That gradual realization that we are transitioning from the joys of the Christmas season into the drab months of winter affect our general mood as we grit our teeth and settle back down to work. Our New Year’s resolutions are barely a week old and already we’re starting to drift away from our enthusiastic promises to ourselves, perhaps in an effort to find some imaginary comfort from the cold, dark and empty midwinter by returning to our former lax ways and vices.
This is when the going gets tough. There is an increasing danger of falling into not just laxity and resignation to sin. Psychologically, this time of year can be the cause of general sorrowfulness and even depression. The weather affects us, the cold temperatures and the long dark nights—all have an effect on our psyche, and it is probably the most dangerous time of the year for our souls.
On top of it all, we sense the approach of Lent with its fasting and other penances, its focus on the Sorrowful Mysteries of our Lord’s Passion and Death. The joys of spring and Easter are the other side of this journey to Calvary, and we are all too conscious that things must get worse before they get better. Nor does the world around us provide us with any real relief from our anxiety and dread. The material things of this world, not to mention the morals and falsehoods of our modern times, all bond together to form a solid wall of evil, providing us with nothing but more fear and anger.
Now that we’ve identified the problem, we must find our way to resolving it. Let’s not waste time in the natural world of politics and entertainment—no matter how hopeful we may become there are no guarantees that good will triumph any time soon. We must do the only thing possible to keep our heads above water and that is to resign ourselves to God’s holy will, in humble submission to his Divine Providence and the knowledge that he will not abandon his faithful subjects. God allows this annual purging of the good things of life for this very purpose, that we may be reminded that the only stable thing we can rely on is the Cross of Jesus, and that as the world turns, this Cross will stand unchanging, beckoning us to accept our own crosses and carry them, not reluctantly but triumphantly through the darkness, marching towards the Light of the Resurrection and the victory over death, suffering and sin.
“In the end,” said our Lady, “my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” Let there be no abandonment to self pity, but a renewal of our determination to carry our cross to victory.