RESOLUTIONS FOR A NEW YEAR

Jesus, help me keep working on my New Year's resolutions! Amen.

After Jesus was born, three wise men came to King Herod, asking, "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We followed His star here to worship Him." Herod worried this "new king" might take over, so he asked the wise men to find Jesus and come back to report on Him. The wise men found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But an angel warned them that Herod would kill Jesus, so, instead of returning to Herod, they went home another way.

Happy New Year! A lot of kids and adults see a new year as a time for starting over. They promise they'll start exercising, eat more vegetables, work harder at school or jobs, or pray more.

Often, though, those New Year's resolutions don't last. People forget to pray, feel too tired to work out, or eat cookies, and get discouraged. They think, "I missed my chance to start over!"

Everyone in this week's Gospel (Matthew 2:1-12) probably had moments of feeling that way:

* Mary and Joseph had a brand-new baby, Jesus, but they were stuck in a dirty barn with Him;

* the three wise men came all the way to Bethlehem to see Jesus, but then they met scary King Herod, and they and the Holy Family were all in danger.

It would have been easy for them to give up on having a good year, but they didn't. Instead of saying, "Things didn't turn out like we planned, so forget it," they worked harder at their resolutions.

Joseph got more determined to give his little family a good life, and he and Mary worked to protect Jesus. The wise men worshipped Jesus as they'd come to do, then went home by another way to keep themselves and the Holy Family safe.

Whatever your New Year's resolutions are, you can always keep trying, even if they don't turn out perfectly. Remember, like the wise men, Mary, Joseph and Jesus, you have angels on your side!

(01/03/08)