Greetings such as ‘Happy New Year!’; ‘A blessed New Year!’;‘A spirit-filled New Year!’; ‘A prosperous New Year!’; ‘A fruitful New Year’ help encourage reflection on the kind of year chosen to live.
The sentiments will not be realised by one person going at it alone, but rather “Through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you….” Bishop Lawrence Nicasio of Belize-Belmopan City said in his New Year’s message.
In it, the Bishop said faithful cannot run away from the fact that all are part of the family of God.
He observed that the disobedience of Adam and Eve clearly points to a couple living and serving self. “And you know, many people today continue to live this kind of lifestyle that is not productive and is not about the common good. There is no room for selfishness in God’s family. There is only room for love and mutual service!” Bishop Nicasio said in his message via The Christian Herald.
Bishop Nicasio said that a happy, blessed, spirit-filled, prosperous and fruitful new year will not happen if we have given up on life, are habitually bored, full of negativity, are only for self, unforgiving, impatient or always sad.
He shared with faithful his desire for 2020 is that service to Church should not continue with a ‘business as usual attitude’.
“The Caribbean culture is what we are used to; it is what we grew up with; it is what we were taught. The Caribbean Culture is the culture of the family—‘me for you and you for me’. This is the culture passed on to us by our ancestors who, I believe, received it as a response to the guidance of God throughout their struggles.” It is the culture of survival and life, he said.
Pastors and leaders in the Church too must lead the way. The Bishop asserted that they must do some introspection to see how visible their enthusiasm and vitality are for leading the Church with which they have been entrusted.
Bishop Nicasio hoped that as a Caribbean people, as a Caribbean Church, faithful in Belize will do their part to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ with “enthusiasm and vitality”.
Article taken from Catholic News TT
