New Year Blog - Put your hand into the hand of God

It was Christmas, 1939. The Second World War had just begun.  The lights were going out all over Europe, a terrible darkness and hopelessness was around, an evil  greater than anything people had seen in their lifetime was creeping inexorably around the world. King George VI was making his speech to the nation.  He was afraid too. If you have seen the film “The King’s speech” you will know why.  He suffered from a crippling speech impediment which held him prisoner and prevented him from communicating effectively to his people.  But, through the support of two people, his wife and an unknown speech therapist, he learned to overcome his fear, and to believe in himself.  His message of that year, so long ago now, has put him in the history books for all time.  He looked at the darkness all around him,  and felt the fear and uncertainty of his subjects.  No one knew what the future was to hold.  As a nation, we were looking down the barrel of a gun.  But this shy, unassuming man, who came to kingship unwillingly, reached down into the depths of his own beliefs and said simply, quoting Minnie Haskin’s opening lines “The Gateway of the Year”:

“I said to the man who stood at the gateway of the year
‘Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied,
‘Go into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.' "

It was his legacy to us, even though he was not aware of it.

Today, we too stand at the threshold of a New Year, with all its possibilities and opportunities.  It is exciting and thought-provoking.  But it is also scary.  We peer fearfully through the bars of the gate, half-open now and leading to a new pathway which is shrouded in mist.  We think about the world we live in, the legacy of a world-wide recession, the corroding effect of drug and alcohol abuse on our young people, the violence and ruthlessness we see nightly on our screens, the hunger and despair of so many and we begin to feel afraid…  But, like the king so long ago, we know what we have to do.  We reach out, in hope, for the comforting grasp of those hands which lead us and support us through good times and bad times.   He is always there, and like the vociferous fans at Liverpool Football Club, we realise that ‘we never walk alone.’  So this year let’s ‘walk on, walk on with hope in our hearts’ encouraging one another to trust in God. 

Our Lady was told by the powerful Angel Gabriel: ’Do not be afraid!’  Why should we be afraid? That is the message we carry in our hearts through 2012.  In a newly-minted year, we too say:

     When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high,

     And don’t be afraid of the dark.

     At the end of the storm is  golden sky, and the sweet silver song of the lark.

     Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain  though your dreams be tossed and torn.

     Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone!

Of course not.  Have a happy New Year, enjoy the greetings, the fun, the fireworks and the parties but remember:

‘Put your hand into the hand of God, that shall be to you better than a light, and safer than a known way!’  Great advice. With an assurance of our prayers here.