I remember towards the end of my time in high school in the mid-1980s being somewhat daunted by the prospect of the year 2000. Of course, at sixteen or seventeen, a decade and a half seemed like a long time in the future. But the thought of the year 2000, nonetheless, caused me some anxiety.
Yet here we are at the start of the second quarter of the twenty-first century. Long since over the hump of the turn of the century and millennium, I find myself excited at the prospect of a New Year.
In a sense, I suppose, there is something arbitrary about the way we keep time. But our reckoning of time is not wholly arbitrary. It is largely dictated by the earth’s rotation around and tilt towards or away from the sun. But at midnight last night, we broke through the invisible barrier between 2025 and 2026.
While time itself does not speed up or slow down, our experience relativizes time, making it seem slower or faster depending on what you’re doing at the time. Time at work often drags while a family vacation or even a day off seems to zip by. When you’re young, a year seems like an eternity. As you age, the years seem to fly by.
As the Smothers Brothers sang many years ago:
Whatever happened to timeThere’s our reckoning of time and then there’s one’s reckoning with time. Life is the latter, no matter what calendar you choose. This is something Advent seeks to confront us with each year. A lot of what we see as worthwhile, in the end, is a waste of time, as the thoughts and words shared on many deathbeds reveal. By contrast, much of what we see as a waste of time is actually time well-spent. Too often prayer is viewed as a waste of time. As a wise mentor said to me years ago: "If you're too busy to pray, you're too busy."
It doesn’t come around anymore
The last time I saw time it was walking out the door
It’s pointless to answer the question: Do you see prayer as a waste of time? with words. The correct answer at Church will always be: Of course, prayer isn’t a waste of time. This question can only be truly answered by how much time you spend in prayer. Before you get defensive, nearly all of us, me included, would be well-served by praying more.
Prayer is the path to peace. Since 1968, today’s Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is also the World Day of Peace. Of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary is Queen of Peace and her Son the Prince of Peace. “Peace on earth and mercy mild/God and sinners reconciled” is a great summary of Christmas, the octave of which ends today. Then, as we sing in a more contemporary hymn: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” This is the only starting point for peace.
In his message for the first World Day of Peace since becoming Pope, Leo XIV called for “a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering.”1 This is the peace of God “that surpasses all understanding,” given us in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit’s power.2 Once received, this peace cannot be taken away, even in the most dire circumstances. As the witness of so many saints, like Maximilian Kolbe, show us.
It is because of Christ, as Saint Paul tells us in our reading from his Letter to the Galatians, that we can call God “Abba, Father.”3 In and through Christ, we become more than creatures. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are remade, reborn as children of God. This also makes the Blessed Virgin, full of grace, our Mother.
Our Blessed Mother isn’t just prayerful. As her Son’s model disciple, she is prayer embodied. Born without the stain of original sin, she knew no alienation from God. Prayer, union with and connection to God, is natural to her. This why, even after giving birth under the crudest of circumstances, she serenely “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”4
Too often we let circumstances disrupt our prayer, especially trying and troubling circumstances. When you let this happen, a dangerous gap opens. This gap is expertly exploited by our enemy. And so, always adhere to what is taught in Sacred Scripture and “pray without ceasing.”5 Holy Mass, according to Mother Church, is the highest form of prayer- “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.”6
Christ, in His goodness, gives us through His Church so many wonderful means of grace. One of the greatest channels of grace is the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. By meditating over and again on the four sets of mysteries, you are drawn ever more deeply into the Paschal Mystery, which is the very heart of reality.
There are fifteen promises our Blessed Mother makes to those who recite her Most Holy Rosary. Don’t worry, I am not going to recite them and there will not be a quiz. Here is the promise at the heart of her promises: The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.
So, not only is praying the Rosary not a waste of time, but can be, in a manner of speaking, a way to extend your time. So, make a resolution for the new year to pray the Rosary often, even daily. Bring specific intentions for our Blessed Mother’s intercession for each Rosary you pray. Pray the Rosary while walking, waiting, and pray it contemplatively at home and before the Blessed Sacrament.
Prayer is the path to peace. Prayer is how you open yourself to the peace that only Christ can give. It is the peace, which flows from the love of God, that casts out fear. “If you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves; be steadfast in peace yourselves,” Saint Augustine urged. “To inflame others,” he continued, “you must have the flame burning within.”7
Circling back to time, the kingdom of God, which is everlasting, is characterized by peace and justice. That justice is a prerequisite for true peace is indicated by the title of Pope Saint Paul VI’s Message for the V World of Peace: “If you want peace, work for justice.”8 Never forget that the the primary effect of prayer (but by no means the only effect) is on the heart of the one who prays.
Peace be with you. Happy New Year.
1 Pope Leo XIV. Message for the LIX World Day of Peace, 2026.↩
2 Philippians 4:7.↩
3 Galatians 4:6.↩
4 Luke 2:19.↩
5 1 Thessalonians 5:17.↩
6 Second Vatican Council. Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy [Sacrosanctum Concilium], sec. 10.↩
7 Pope Leo XIV. Message for the LIX World Day of Peace, 2026.↩
8 Pope Paul VI. Message for the V World Day of Peace, 1972.↩
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