With just a flip of a page on the calendar, a new year has begun. For many of us the beginning of a new year is an occasion to reflect on the events of the past year – the blessings and the burdens – and to wonder what the new year will hold for us. No doubt the future will be a combination of the good and bad; moments of joy and sorrow, success and failure, health and illness, and life and death. Every year is like that, isn’t it?

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PROVIDENCE — With the diocesan phase of the global 2023 Synod of Bishops, invoked by Pope Francis, well underway, diocesan Office of Faith Formation Synod Committee contacts Edward Trendowski, Ph.D., and Michelle Donovan have been working with their Synod Committee on ways to engage the faithful, as requested by the Holy Father.

“Michelle and I formed a subcommittee to draft a survey,” said Trendowski, director of the Office of Faith Formation.

Catholic theology says little about “New Year’s resolutions.” Few saints ascribe to the idea. A paucity of evidence of this practice surfaces in papal encyclicals or conciliar decrees. Yet the term is ubiquitous. It may even appear in a homily or two every January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The chief problem associated with strict resolutions lies in their unbalanced focus on the ego.

The 2021 labor market surprised economists. Exponential job growth after 2020’s precipitous decline promised an economic boom hitherto unseen since the post-war era. In this employment oasis, one would expect laborers to apply for jobs with rapacious interest. Sadly, this didn’t happen. Few workers returned to their former employment. Many retired. And a declining birth rate in the United States since 1990 ensured that fewer “young Americans” even exist to succeed their parents in the workforce.

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WASHINGTON (CNS) — The 49th annual national March for Life — with a rally on the National Mall and march to the Supreme Court Jan. 21 — will go on as scheduled this year amid a surge in the omicron variant in the nation’s capital.

Outdoor events are not affected by the District of Columbia’s vaccine mandate for indoor gatherings, but participants should expect to wear face masks. Indoor events associated with the annual march will have to comply with city COVID-19 restrictions.

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To volunteer or partner with us, please contact Catholic Charities via email at 150ActsofCharity@dioceseofprovidence.org or call 401-421-7833.

During our special 150th Anniversary Celebration, Bishop Tobin is recognizing 150 unsung groups from our diocesan family who have performed new and/or increased volunteer efforts in our diocesan parishes, Catholic schools, agencies, ministries and organizations and/or in their wider communities during the 150th Diocesan Celebration Year.

Learn more and/or make a recognition at dioceseofprovidence.org/150-acts-of-charity.

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence

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