With all the hype on New Year's Eve parties and what-not, why not try an alternative to the loudness of it all?  Simplicity certainly can work wonders for making one recognize the good fortune that one has in life.  So with that in mind, I'm keeping it simple this New Year's Eve.  I went to mass at St. Ignatius tonight.  The mass was presided by Archbishop James and was celebrated in both English and Spanish, which certainly made for an interesting evening.  It felt like I was in another continent at times!  The beauty of celebrating mass with the archbishop is in getting to hear his homily (ie. sermon).  He has a wonderful gift of being able to convey very practical and yet profound messages to the people.  In a nutshell, these were the main points of his lesson:

• Christmas is not something that ends as soon as you open your presents on Christmas Day.  Catholics celebrate the Christmas spirit for eight consecutive days, meaning that the spirit of love and giving should extend past December 25th, all the way to January 1st, and in fact, it should extend throughout the entire year. 
• Each and every individual should never forget that he/she is tremendously loved by God.  Thus we are all special and important in our own ways and we must never lose sight of that, especially in times of hardships.
• The typical New Year's resolutions of losing weight, eating healthier, etc. are useful, but trite.  Rather than focus on such resolutions that focus on self, we should direct our resolutions outwards towards others.  Why not resolve to give more of your time, patience, love, etc. to others?
• The mix of Spanish and English in one harmonious mass celebration is an example of how we ought to live with others.  Especially when we encounter difficulty relating to others who may seem so different from us, those are the times when we must remember Christ's example of love for neighbour.
• Mary is the model of how we ought to live our lives.  She was not afraid to trust that accepting to be the Mother of God was the right decision.  We also need to trust in God, in good times and in bad.

Following mass was a small reception of coffee and snacks in the parish hall.  I certainly was surprised and thrilled when Archbishop James told me he selected me to lector (ie. read scripture passages to the congregation at mass) in Sydney, Australia this summer!  What this means is that I may possible get a chance to get REAL up close and personal with none other than Pope Benedict XVI!  If this actually happens in July 2008, it's certainly going to have a tremendous effect on my vocation!  Now all I need to do is somehow save up over three grand to get myself down under.  Archbishop James also told me to change my hairstyle.  (He was joking of course.)  He also got to meet my dad, which my dad was very happy about.  It's amazing how approachable and friendly our archbishop is.

One more thing.  I said hello to one of the local priests at St. Ignatius tonight, and he was a priest that before then, I would have only seen in the confession room.  I wonder if he recognizes me as the fellow who confessed to doing all those sinful things I mentioned!  And, what does the archbishop do on New Year's Eve?  Stay home alone and go to bed at ten.  I love simplicity!