On this podcast we reflect on beginning a new year and what it means to begin again. During this time of prayer, we want to ask ourselves: What can I do to make these twelve months ahead spectacular?

First, we want to accelerate to the finish, which means hastening towards our goal of Heaven. This brings up the topic of strategy: How do we go about doing it? Jesus Christ shows us the way. He said to be perfect like His Heavenly Father is perfect and He gives us the gift of forgiveness of sins— the sacrament of confession. The Lord is telling us that when we begin again, when we give Him a chance to forgive us, He is filled with joy because we allow Him to exercise His mercy. As a result of the sacrament, we will reflect joy and serenity because of the marvelous gift of mercy. St. Josemaria called it the sacrament of joy because it guarantees our turning back to God and restores our divine friendship with Him.

This reflection should inspire us to make the resolution to do whatever it takes to go to confession regularly. It should also inspire us to ask Our Lord to help us find the right time and way to bring up the topic of “beginning again” among our friends and coworkers, especially a friend who is hurting. We want to be like the faithful friends who carried the paralytic man to Jesus; his sins were forgiven and he was brought to life (Mark 2:1-12). We want to pray about that friend (or friends) during the coming weeks, knowing that our friends will never forget us for having helped restore them to life.

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