Becoming More Positive During the Year of Mercy

I’m going to be honest – this semester has been pretty stressful for me. Lots of work, a few issues with classes I’m teaching, planning a wedding, and travel adds up to a lot of stress factors over the last few months. It’s made me kind of negative. It’s made me really complain-y. It’s made me a bit more agitated than usual. I don’t like it. So I’ve decided to change it.

It’s not often I talk about my religion, especially here. It’s a very personal thing for each person and I try to be mindful of that. But I was sitting in church yesterday and listening to the homily; this is the point where the priest (in a Catholic Mass) discusses the day’s readings and relates that to you in some way. This is usually my favorite part of mass, but it can also make or break the service. This one definitely made the service.

Year of Mercy

Yesterday was also the first day of Advent, which is known for counting down the weeks until Christmas. It’s also the beginning of the Catholic year. During his homily, the priest talked about this and how Pope Francis has made this year the Year of Mercy. The homily focused on this as our mission for the year, and especially during this time of year.

His words really made me think about some of the negativity I’ve had for the last few weeks and how that doesn’t really reflect who I am or what I stand for. In short, it made me realize that I’m a very lucky individual and that I need to be more positive. I need to be less judgmental, hold fewer grudges, and be more understanding.

Good for One is Good for Many

I feel the last few weeks have been rough on a lot of us; it seems there’s a lot of bad in the world – but there’s a lot of good too. Starting today I’m going to be a more positive influence to the people around me. I’m not going to complain on social media as much, I’m going to approach issues with more patience than I have been, and I’m going strive to show more mercy. I think now is the perfect time to start; even if you’re not Catholic (or religious at all), I think everyone can still get behind the pope’s message: an invitation to love, kindness, and unbounded generosity.