Dear parish family and friends,
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and all your loved ones! As we embark upon a New Year, once again, we find that we are still dealing with this pandemic, especially in our own city. But, as you know, the entire world is going through much of the same.
I don’t know about you, but perhaps there was a sense of hope last year at this time that as we turned the page on 2020, this would all be behind us within a few months. But that’s not the case despite man’s best efforts of masks, vaccines, and mandates!
While humanity can only do what we can in our strength, I want to remind you today that God is still on the Throne regardless of where we have been or where we are going! That means that He is still in control.
There is a wonderful verse of Scripture which serves as a reminder of who God is: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last”. (Revelation 22:13).
While we cannot possibly know what the future holds, we know who holds the future! We are not even gifted enough to know what tomorrow will bring to us, but as Christian Catholics, we need to rest assured that God does! puts my mind at ease about His plans and purposes. This New Year will unfold as God has planned it to happen. Not one thing will take place that does not first sift through the loving hands of an Almighty God.
There are many times I don’t understand the ways of God, but that’s really not something we should concern ourselves with. We must only trust Him! Ultimately, I believe that God can write straight on crooked lines. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).
No matter what it looks like right now, God is still on the throne. He reigns today, the King of Kings. He is sovereign over all things. Nothing happens outside the scope of His power and authority. When it comes to our future, remember that God already has been there! There is absolutely nothing that will come up in the days, weeks, and months ahead that will be a surprise to Him!
Moving forward into this New Year, I encourage you to live with anticipation for the wonderful things God wants to accomplish through you! Some people will be looking for hope, and we have that hope, and His Name is Jesus! Be ready to show him to the world, and do so with boldness, confidence and without fear, because God is on the Throne!
Let’s make this year a year of victory! With God’s grace!
Blessings in Christ,
Msgr. Cuong M. Pham