THROUGHOUT ADVENT, WE were reminded that God is Emmanuel, God with us. Yet the mystery of the Incarnation is not limited to one liturgical season or a historical moment. Jesus promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of time” (cf. Mt. 28:20). God’s abiding presence is the ultimate reality we are meant to experience at every moment of our lives.
Throughout the year, God draws near, assuring us of His divine presence, grace and love.
As the year ends, many of us review goals, accomplishments and failures, and make new resolutions for growth and success. While self-reflection and self-improvement are commendable, Christians are called to consider greater realities: God’s concrete, immediate activity in our lives. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that creation is journeying toward perfection, guided by divine providence (cf. CCC 302). God governs all things, from the smallest details to the greatest events (cf. CCC 303). God is actively involved in every moment, ordering all things in His love.
This reflection redirects our attention from judging our own efforts to the presence of God’s grace, His life in us. Holiness is not primarily what we do for God, but what God does in us and how we respond. As you review this past year, consider: How has God been with me? How have I been with Him? Did I receive or resist His invitations and gifts?
God’s Love Purifies
God’s love purifies us, often during times of trials, so we can be freed from our selfishness and overcome our pride so our will is more aligned with God’s. Disappointments are not punishments, but opportunities to surrender our plans and preferences to the One who loves us perfectly. How has His love purified you this past year?
God’s Love Gives Direction
God’s love is a light when we feel lost or uncertain. He speaks to our hearts through Scripture, the Christian community, ordinary circumstances and in the stillness of our hearts in prayer. Sometimes His guidance is a bright light that gives great certainty, and other times, it is a gradual revelation that gives clarity for the next step. How has His love given you direction this past year?
God’s Love Redeems and Heals
By entering every human experience through the Incarnation and freely offering Himself in suffering on the Cross, Jesus elevates all human suffering and redeems our wounds— moments when we were denied love— by offering us His healing presence that moves gently and deeply into our pain, resentment, and brokenness. God’s redemptive love gives us the eternal hope that we share in His victory over evil, sin and death, transforming all our fears and setting us free for new life. How has His redeeming love given you new meaning and hope this past year?
God’s Love Forgives and Reconciles
God’s love and mercy restores intimacy lost through sin and reconciles divisions within ourselves and with others. Our hearts are moved with wonder and gratitude when we contemplate His merciful love. We participate in His redeeming work when we extend the same forgiveness, we have received from God to ourselves and to others. Thus, we become bearers of God’s peace and signs of His unity. How has His merciful love reconciled you to Himself and others this past year?
God’s Love Draws into Communion
Ultimately, His love draws us into communion with Himself and others, through prayer, sacraments and authentic friendships. Every gift of grace, act of mercy and encounter of healing deepens intimacy with the Trinity and unites the Body of Christ. How has His love drawn you into greater communion with Christ and with others this past year?
Contemplating the wonders of His love this past year makes us more aware of God’s activity and strengthens our choice to cooperate with His plans of love. As we begin a new year, let us not only make resolutions, but deepen our desire for God’s life in us. He is Emmanuel, God with us, and His love endures forever (cf. Ps. 136:1).