Since I have been a working person, I have been of the mind that New Year's Day should not be a holiday. Instead we should add a holiday in August when the weather is good, and we all need a bit more time off. New Year's Day comes in the middle of winter and after a couple of other holidays. Perhaps I am alone in this opinion, but I thought I would share it with you…maybe this will start a movement.

The beginning of a new year is often romanticized. Somehow going from December 31 to January 1 makes everything better. There is the notion that we can leave everything from the old year behind and start over in the new year. There is indeed something noble about this sentiment, but the fact is that it needs to be more than a sweet idea.

Starting anew begins with recognizing that we may have fallen short, missed the mark, or failed to reach our goals. It is hard to draw a map forward if we do not know where we have been and where we are. So a new year begins with the hard work of assessing what has gone well over the last year and what needs work. It is an honest look back with appreciation for what went well and commitment to change what did not go so well.

Beginning a new year gives us the opportunity to set new goals. As we set goals, we look for ways to be more than just ordinary. In the past year we have heard over and over about how we will need to adjust to our "new normal." How sad this sentiment is. After all that we have been through in 2020, it is more than a bit disappointing that we would be told to prepare to be normal, to be ordinary. As we begin a new year it is a good idea for us to set a goal of being extraordinary. We should set a goal of putting all our gifts to work to make ourselves and our environment the best they can be.

Of course the beginning of a new year is also a great time for us to reassess how we are living our faith. It is a good time to ask ourselves about the health and vitality of our relationship with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do this in very much the same way we approach making new year's resolutions. We assess what we have done well and what we let slide in the previous year. We discover where we have been and where we are, and where we want to go. Then we set goals.

In the new year we may set a goal of praying ten minutes every day. We may decide that we want to attend daily Mass on a regular basis or commit to a time of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament each week. Reading the Sacred Scripture, watching a program about our faith, learning about the saints or a particular saint are all helpful in our desire to grow in our friendship with God. Helping us on our way to holiness and extraordinariness is the sacrament of reconciliation. The cliché that confession is good for the soul turns out not to be a cliché at all. Confession sets us free from the chains of guilt and shame and allows us to see ourselves in the same way that God sees us.

As we say goodbye to what many have called a horrible year, let us not romanticize the beginning of the new year. It would be wrong for us to expect everything to be all better just because we turn the page on a calendar. What we should expect in the new year is the opportunity to pursue holiness and extraordinariness with a new resolve and commitment. What we should expect in the new year is the opportunity to recommit ourselves to growing our faith, to becoming better friends with God.

Still basking in the glow of the Christmas Season we are able to see ourselves in the light of Christ and know that we were not created to be normal, new or otherwise. So as it turns out, a new year with a resolve to more deliberately and intentionally seek God is a pretty good reason to have a holiday.