Let us thank to the Most Holy Trinity and to the Holy Mother of God who intercess for the whole world that they made us worthy to live another year. Let us decide in our hearts to put a good start and spend from now on our time with God as Chstians. Let us reconcile with God before death takes us away. AMEN!
Beginning from the New Year our deepest concern must be different. The most important things is to renew our life, to be careful with every new year to leave a sin which takes hold on us since God knows when and put instead of that a virtue. Let us forgive the mistakes of those who upset us and forgive everyone and let us start the New Year with pure heart and faith in God. Let us do not go to pubs and spend time drinking and playing music and making parties. If you start well from the first day as the good day proves good since morning this is how everything will go for you all the time!`
Go through villages on this night. It is a hell on earth. This is how the people know how to thank to God that He gave them a new year to live. But death comes and suffocates his neck that he can`t tell anymore to the priest what he had done because his tongue is tied. How he wished then to have one more hour from God. But He doesn`t give him anymore.
It is set : when the time comes death comes and takes you away. You wished you prayed: `God give me one more minute.` But He doesn`t give you anymore. You had too many. God is just. He gave you time but you didn`t want to change and repent and cry and pray. He gave you so many years to live and you had no worry. Then you will see that there is no repentance during death.
So let us think that when a year passed away we must cry a lot before God because we did nothing good and thank Him that He helped us with His mercy to pass 365 days and reach this day.
All of us must thank to Him, all the creatures of God. Life and the creatures and all ages are in the hand of God. WE must thank God so that His wrath would not come over us!
We wait for the mercy of God but there will come a time when death comes for everyone.
The justice of God comes and nobody can run away from it, not even the emperors. Where are the kingdoms? Where are the pharaohs of Egypt? Where are the sultans of the Turks? Where are the kings of Germany? Where are the emperors the whole world feared? Where are the old cities? Where is Pompeii and where is Chartage and the old cities destroyed by earthquakes?
Where are the cities of the world? Where are the powerful people, where are the scholars? Where are the philosophers? Where are those who had a scepter and whose heads shone as the sun? Where are they? They became dust in the wind. This is the justice of God and it is bad for us if we waste time in vain.
Saint Paul the Apostle says: Redeem time as the days are evil. (Ephesians 5, 16).
We will ask from God to give us one more minute to live and He will not give us. Because we waste this life recklessly and we get tangled with the worries of this time as if we were immortals. But we are smoke.
Excerpt from Father Cleopas speaks to us volume IX, The Publishing House of the Episcopate of Roman.
