Can we wish each other a holy year 2022, in the face of such decadence? Yes, if for us this year is the opportunity to strongly reaffirm our faith beyond the countless vicissitudes: good year, bad year, God is here! Whatever trials overwhelm us, God is present!
This is not blissful autosuggestion, an attempt at soothing self-persuasion against exasperating evidence. It is an act of faith, as a Carthusian monk tells us: “The future is not ours. Life is not what we make of it; God alone directs its course.”
“All we can do is confidently accept this direction which is overflowing with love. Let us not see too much what men are, nor things, nor events. The spectacle is so often disheartening. Let us look at the One who sovereignly regulates all these movements and who makes them work together in an infinite plan of love.”
“Let us get deeper and deeper into these views of faith, which alone are intelligent and true. These are the very views of God. In all that He does or allows, He sees and wants only His love. Let us do like Him.”
“Obviously appearances are disconcerting. The world is full of evil and hate. How can you see love in such opposing manifestations? We do not see it; we believe. To believe is to see in the light of God; it is to rely upon Him, who tells us: “Your body’s eyes, your reason see evil. But these views are superficial. The foundation of it all is love.”
“We see that faith demands a very heavy sacrifice; but we also see that it gives us a security and a peace that one could call infinite, since it is based on the very word of God. We have the profound secret of Christian tranquility in the midst of the worst events. Events are transient; the word of God is eternal.” (Dom Augustin Guillerand, Carthusian Silence)
And elsewhere this religious affirms: “There is no remedy for our temporary evils except in God’s eternal love for us. All of our sorrows come from our asking for joy and for goods too narrow and too short for the immensity of our hearts.” (Carthusian Voice)
So yes! In that light, good year or bad, God will be here! At this level, God will be present every day of 2022.
From a human point of view, it’s hard to think of the coming New Year as a good year. Most countries are adopting legislation which increasingly secularizes institutions, and extends the availability of abortion, medically assisted procreation, surrogacy, and euthanasia.
The following is a reflection from Fr. Alain Lorans.
