2012 - A Year of Change

The year has flown by like the wind.

Beginning October 11, 2012, and concluding on November 24, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI has declared as the "Year of Faith" because it’s the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) and also the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). During the Year of Faith, Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and the catechism so that they may deepen their knowledge of the faith.

But much before this was declared, I was already becoming ‘faithful’ towards Jesus Christ. Personally, this year has been a “Year of Faith” for me in its true sense – in fact, 2012 has been a major “year of change” in my life. Soon after the dragon of Chinese astrology arrived with the Lunar New Year in January, constructive changes started taking place in my life. 2012 has been a landmark year for me. Twenty four years back, 1988, was yet another memorable year of my life. It is the happiest year of my childhood and now 2012 has been an extremely happy year.

Though I don’t remember much about 1988, all I can say is that I was happy – I had scaled academically and I had a lot of friends whom I have been able to locate on Facebook now. About 2012… Well, it has been good to me right from the beginning because I dared to bring in change in me. It was on January 24 that the “bitter realization” donned on me and I decided to bring in the much-needed change in my life. Obviously, I couldn’t do this alone – I had to take the Lord’s help and the Lord was good to me and helped me bringing this change in my life!

I started off by being faithful to the Lord by reading books on Him and listening to His songs of praise. These were the first couple of steps I had to undertake to bring in the change in my life. Though I stumbled initially, I kept growing in faith. In March, I completed my Bible studies and applied for the post of a Sunday School teacher (catechist). I had wanted to teach the lower grades but I feel that God wanted me to take up bigger challenge and so I became a Confirmation (eleventh standard) teacher. What a way Jesus exalted me in my life for being humbly faithful to Him! More than my own self, Jesus knew my capabilities better. By June, I was a catechist. Praise the Lord.

In July I dared to bring in professional change in my life. This fulfilled my long-cherished dream of becoming a work-from-home mom. My daughters’ crèche was stopped – what else could I ask in life? But if that was not enough, yet another dream of mine got fulfilled around September – I adopted two puppies and gave shelter to two homeless souls – Peter Pan and Tinker Bell! Despite the messy home, life couldn’t be any more beautiful!

October is considered as the month of Rosary and this year I attended all the days except the day I was in Delhi. So Mamma Mary blessed me and interceded to her son Jesus Christ to make me an Eucharistic Minister for my faithfulness. In November, I became an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. This has been the highlight of my spiritual life in 2012.

According to C.S. Lewis, “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward”. Since the time I decided to let go and started moving forward with the help of Jesus Christ, there was no looking back for me this year. And as Marilyn Monroe has said: “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together”, better things started falling in my life in 2012.

As according to Price Pritchett “Change always comes bearing gifts”, all the spiritual changes in my life brought in the gift of Jesus Christ for me. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it’s written – “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” I became a new creature in Christ.

At the very beginning of the year, St. Paul was greatly instrumental in making spiritual changes in my life. As he had said: “What shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to him, “Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do” (Acts 22:10). Much in the same way, in my own way, I had asked the Lord “what shall I do” and the Lord asked me to “rise” and “go into Damascus” and after that I had on my own known “all that was appointed” for me!

Soon after that I had read a book on the life of St. Augustine which also brought in spiritual changes in me. Since then there has been only faith formation in my life this year. But I still feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg – a lot more waits for me! I have to keep growing in faith by constantly reading the Bible, reading about saints and martyrs, spending time in personal prayer, and knowing my catechism perfectly well.

St. Augustine has said that “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us”. And so I have been humbled by the kind of love God has shown for me this year. He has also said that “He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent” and so because I asked the Lord to save me, He answered my call and set me free from all my iniquities.

And like St. Augustine has also said that “If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times” and so in 2013 also, I aspire to live in Christ’s spirit. I aspire to live a good spiritual life and grow in faith each passing day.

Lastly, again to quote St. Augustine, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee”, I am always restless without my Jesus Christ. I want to be with Him at all the moments of my life in 2013. I don’t want Uncle Onida to bother me anymore.