What Does 2013 Hold for Us?

For some of us, it’s customary as the New Year approaches to ask ourselves: what will next year be like? A group of friends were talking about this a few days ago, and the conclusion we reached (we were married couples with small children) was that 2012 had been hard and that 2013 would surely be harder. We have been repeating the same thing at the end of every year for more than a decade now (and it seems to be a worldwide thing). Even so, that does not take away our Hope or our desire to keep fighting, with Joy, to move our families and our country forward.

A few days ago Benedict XVI’s Message for the World Day of Peace was published online. In it he says that “each new year brings the expectation of a better world,” and that “fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, which helped to strengthen the Church’s mission in the world, it is heartening to realize that Christians, as the People of God in fellowship with Him and sojourning among mankind, are committed within history to sharing humanity’s joys and hopes, grief and anguish, as they proclaim the salvation of Christ and promote peace for all.”

That is so true that it brings to mind one of the Christmas patinatas (the early-morning roller-skating gatherings of the Advent season) I attended in December in a crowded parish in Caracas. They were days of great uncertainty in the country, and some people were focused on political rumors and speculation. In that plaza there were hundreds of Catholic families (some going through serious problems) with thousands of children (their children) enjoying that moment of faith (the Mass was packed) and recreation. Because for those families life went on, and goes on, with all the external things, bad and good, that may happen. You still have to change diapers, give bottles, buy food, pay school fees, educate the children. We Christians can live, by the grace of God, with great Joy and Hope even in the midst of setbacks.

In that Message, Benedict XVI says: “Those who entrust themselves to God and His promises are frequently regarded by the world as naive or far from reality. Yet Jesus tells them that not only in the next life but already in this one they will discover that they are children of God, and that God has always been, and ever will be, completely on their side. They will understand that they are not alone, because He is on the side of those committed to truth, justice and love.”

And you see this every day. So many Christian families with countless problems (some even with sick children), yet they are always cheerful, because they abandon themselves into God’s hands (without failing to use every human means to solve things), and they radiate a Joy and a Peace that impress many people.

I only know (as many other people of faith know as well) that whatever 2013 holds for us, we will receive it with patience, joy and fortitude. The one thing we are clear about this year, as the Catholics we are (and very especially in this Year of Faith), is that we will keep fighting to move our families forward, educating in values; to be Catholics in deed and not only in name; and to help sow Peace and reconciliation in our Beloved Venezuela.

In the conclusion of his message, Benedict XVI tells us: “There is a need to propose and promote a pedagogy of peace. This calls for a rich interior life, clear and valid moral points of reference, and appropriate attitudes and lifestyles. Acts of peacemaking contribute to the common good; they create interest in peace and educate for peace. Thoughts, words and gestures of peace create a mentality and a culture of peace, and a respectful, honest and cordial atmosphere. There is a need, then, to teach people to love one another, to cultivate peace and to live with good will rather than mere tolerance. A fundamental encouragement to this is ‘to say no to revenge, to acknowledge our faults, to accept apologies without demanding them, and finally, to forgive,’ so that mistakes and offenses can be truly acknowledged in order to move forward together toward reconciliation. This requires the spread of a pedagogy of pardon. Evil is in fact overcome by good, and justice is to be sought in imitating God the Father who loves all His children (cf. Mt 5:21–48). This is a slow process, for it presupposes a spiritual evolution, an education in lofty values, a new vision of human history. There is a need to renounce that false peace promised by the idols of this world, along with the dangers which accompany it, that false peace which dulls consciences, which leads to self-absorption and to a withered existence lived in indifference. The pedagogy of peace, on the other hand, implies activity, compassion, solidarity, courage and perseverance.”

Whatever this new year may hold, we are clear that we will keep going, sowing Joy and Peace in our Beloved Homeland. Happy 2013 to all my dear fellow Venezuelans!