It is very interesting that a week after we celebrate Christmas we find ourselves in the New Year. There is a great spiritual significance from this holiday cycle that crosses our path each year.

Starting on Christmas with the giving, receiving and opening of gifts; Epiphany then moves us into an “awakening” by celebrating the star which leads us to Christ. In a dark night sky, stars are the source of guidance and light. The New Year seems to be asking the question, “What will we do with those gifts of God we have uncovered at the end of last year?”

Let us think for a moment about Jesus’ parable of the coins which were given to three different servants by their master.

Two of the three made more out of them, while the third buried it, hiding it away out of fear. But the master was not worried about the single coin. Rather, the master expected an investment, an effort, a try; in order to produce something more from the gift trusted to each servant.

What about us? Do we give God’s gifts to us “a try”? Do we act courageously, willing to invest ourselves in the betterment of other human beings? How can we apply God’s gifts to help create a more just society that works towards the common good of all?

Each of us is challenged to put our “enlightened gifts” from God into action. The New Year is a new opportunity to get connected with our human family who may be living outside the box of our comfort zone.

When God is revealed to us we cannot keep it to ourselves. Faith and love pushes us beyond ourselves into action. As I mentioned in last month’s column, serving God and neighbor is the primary mission for every follower of Jesus. Pope Benedict’s encyclical, God is Love, says that the work of charity and justice is for every believer in the church community, not just a few.

In our faith communities, this can be the year we make the resolution to stand firm in our willingness to help the helpless. A light hidden under a basket cannot be seen. Therefore, our gifts and talents from God should not be buried, but awakened, in order to serve the least among us.