Practice living each moment with the power of God. And in so doing, you and I are constantly becoming the very love of God himself.

Like the Good Thief, you and I can “steal” heaven. It involves returning to the practice of our faith, going to church, receiving the sacraments, reading Scripture, and talking to God throughout the day in formal or informal prayers.

Jesus came to tell us that love, not violence, is the answer. For his efforts, he was crucified by the people of his day. Violence if often our reaction. But violence is never the answer. Love really is the only answer.

There are no unimportant people in the world. We are all important to God and to life.

Over the centuries, we humans have survived plagues and famines and natural disasters. I don’t pretend to know why God allows them, but I do know that as a human race we survive them.

We do not live in a morally neutral universe. Good and evil, life and death, do contend with each other.

There’s an old saying: “Life is fragile. Handle with prayer.” I’m blessed to be alive.

When we believe that we are made of the “stuff” of God, then we have the power to co-create our world again in God’s likeness. Our time is limited. Our love is not. 

Salvation history is not just about what God did in the past, but what God wants to do through each one of us in the present.

In lieu of resolutions, may I suggest we learn a formula: “The more inadequate we feel, the more anxious we will feel, and the more hostile we will behave.”