January derives its name from this mythical god called Janus who has been depicted to have two heads each facing a different direction: the old and the new year. Indeed, this first month of the New Year is a time to look back at 2009 and then face 2010(using the lessons from the old year). Hmmm...2009 wasn't a bad year at all for me: Chiara turned one, we bought a car (Sandy's her name by the way!), I completed a course on leadership and management with flying colours, Kristina (my youngest sister) got married, our web had its successful events, staff promotions and recruitments, we held the first ever rosary devotion in our Pinoy neighbourhood in Nottingham, etc.
I thank God for these and other blessings that I might have unnoticed and look forward to 2010 as a better and brighter year. I found out that this year is, according to the Lunar Calendar, the Year of the Tiger which makes it more exciting for me since I was born in the Year of the Tiger.
As a kid, my parents bought me a white shirt with a staring tiger printed in front. I donned this in one of our class pictures in 'Playhouse' (equivalent to Nursery) at the Angelicum School (now College).
Tigers are said to be ferocious and suspicious. Perhaps these two attributes (regardless of being negative) are what we need for this new year. Ferocious could mean being assertive and proactive in making things happen, in moving forward to achieve that long-time dream (of course without hurting others).
A few days before 2009 came to a close, I was thinking of my New Year's resolution. Suddenly I thought of Sandy whose official brand name is actually Fiat (abbreviation for the Italian car manufacturer). Now the word fiat in Latin means 'Let it be'. In very simple language fiat means 'Yes'. Following the tiger's assertiveness, I am saying Yes to life, to my family, to my career progression, to my service to God.
A tiger's suspiciousness could mean being discriminative. To filter the good from the bad, the true from the false, the essential from the excess baggage. Nowadays, one has to be careful in making decisions, to weigh the costs, to consider various factors, to spend on what's only important. Indeed, I may sound 'suplado' if I were to be discriminate, but you must maintain your 'taste' for things if you wish to succeed. Again, without sacrificing what is good and those you hold dear in your heart.
I believe that if we are assertive, proactive, and discriminative, we'll spare ourselves the troubles we may have encountered in 2009. Let's welcome and walk through 2010 with a growl!
One thing upcoming in 2010 is the implementation of the new English translation of the Roman Missal. I heard that in England and Wales, the new translation would come in force in Advent.
Examples: the people's response to the priest's 'The Lord be with you' will be 'And with your spirit' (from the original Latin 'Et cum spiritu tuo') and the response to 'Let us give thanks to the Lord our God' will be 'It is right and just'(Latin: 'Dignum et justum est'). By the way, 'And with your spirit' and 'It is right and just' were the text used in the Mass before the current English translation was enforced.
It has been said that the current translation wasn't that faithful to the original Latin text and have lost the 'solemnity' that was there in the original. There have been concerns that this new translation is one step backward from the gains of Vatican II. Then first time I heard of this new translation was five years ago and a priest friend aired his misgivings in the change that would happen. I must admit that decisions are made by the Church hierarchy, however it doesn't mean not communicating with and consulting the majority of the faithful who would definitely ask 'What's in it for me?'
Talking about being discriminative, the Church hierarchy should realize that it's best to delay it so we could reflect more on it and, like anything new, pilot test it. If there would be any flaws then it's best to deal with it on a small scale rather than a full-blown one.
I love the Mass and what I would hate to see is more people getting disillusioned from it because of these proposed changes.
