All Things New

Grab

Which do you prefer in general? Old or new ways? Why?

Grace

Read: Revelation 21:5

“Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.”

GK Chesterton once wrote:

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions…unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."

As we end one year and look to a new one, we pause to take inventory. In a rare moment of reflection and honest self-assessment, we admit our failures. We pledge to learn from them and move toward a better future. We all want to be better, to live our lives more fully and to love one another more selflessly. So, we make resolutions.

Even if making New Year's Resolutions seems to be ineffective, the fact remains that we all make them. The experience is universal. The question is - why do we do it? They probably reveal something of our deepest longing. They present us with an invitation to exercise our human freedom and to choose a better way of life. But, we cannot do it on our own. We need Christ.

He can make all things new within us - and then continues His work of making all things new through us. Even though our human freedom was fractured by sin, the Cross is the lasting and life changing remedy which brings healing to our fallen state. We are saved and restored once and for all.

On the first day of the New Year, we celebrated the Feast of the Solemnity of the Mother of God. We do this for a reason. She who beheld the face of the Savior invites us to hear the words of her Son and Savior Jesus Christ, "Behold I make all things new!"

Christ alone can fulfill the desire which is really at the heart of the New Year's celebrations, and help us, by His saving grace, to make them become reality. Mary is sometimes referred to as the Mother of the New Creation because the One whom she held in her womb is the only One who makes all things new!

Source: https://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=72811

Gather

For discussion, answer the following questions:

1. What do I wish Christ makes new in me, in my marriage and my family?

2. How can we start afresh as a couple in living by our community theme, “Blessed Beyond Bounds?”

Go Forth

In your couple prayer time, watch this lyric video with your spouse and reflect on what you resolve to make new this year with God’s help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4DycDO70M