The recent past has been a confusing time for our world. War continues in the Middle East. Millions of people around the world are now homeless refugees. Political leadership abroad and in our own nation has been less then stable. Christian values have been seriously challenged and our Catholic Church has had to honestly and openly address its failures. There is a hope in all our hearts that 2019 will see true integrity from our international and national leaders; an end to war and violence; and a commitment to honesty, integrity, simplicity and love in all human institutions, especially our Church.

This hope is summed up in a short verse written by Fra Giovani in the 16th Century. He wrote:

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within reach, is joy.
There is radiance and Glory in the darkness,
Could we but see, and to see, we have only to look.
I beseech you to look.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL