Happy New Year, friends!
Like clockwork, the years keep ticking by and so do the words given to them. I hope you were paying attention, because if you didn’t get the chance to take a deep breath in 2025 then, the only advice I can offer you now is to say a Hail Mary. Because ready or not, it’s time to take the plunge!
Last year the Lord woke me up in the wee hours of the morning to draw me to the point through a song that 2025 was going to be a necessary year to breathe. I shared in my post how my son put it all succinctly into words and imagery by the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien when his characters in LOTR, Gandalf, a wizard, shared a moment of quiet with Pippin Took, a hobbit, on the balcony at Gondor just before the big battle.
Pippin observed how quiet the world seemed. And, as the two men peered out at the fire rising off in the distance that signaled the enemy approaching, Gandalf wisely offered his reply, “It’s the deep breath before the plunge.” (Read the full post here: Repairing the World with Tolkien and Gandalf the White (Word of the Year 2025 ‘Breathe’)
There’s no doubt, 2025 was definitely a year for deep breathing. The Church took a deep breath early on when Pope Francis died, and held it until his successor was appointed. Here in my diocese, Catholics in South Florida took another collective breath as news of a new Bishop Elect was just announced. Many others took a deep breath this past year also, as news of relationships ending, parents passing, children moving, new births, world events, and whatever unsettling fire looming before them in the distance began to come a little closer. That collective breath was necessary for us all, whether worldly or personal, the Lord made good on His word in ways even I couldn’t imagine.
Most people agree that God speaks, but very few stop to consider how. The Bible is redundant with stories of how He spoke to the prophets, both new and old. But, the question in our conscience isn’t one opposed to the logic that God can speak to us. The Scriptures say, “My sheep hear my voice.” It’s that we reason He does so in a manner not common to most of us. This is a false understanding of the gift of prophecy. And, it’s not at all Biblicaly supported.
In addition to using His audible voice, the Scriptures tell us God uses everyday human imagination to speak to a soul. Just look at Jeremiah 1:11-12. Symbolism and picture imagery, either real or imagined, are the tools God uses to train up the prophets. That means you and I are perfectly capable of hearing His word for the year, and any other word He wants to give you, so long as you still retain your imagination and a desire to seek Him out in Creation. And, it’s a certainty, if you are one of His sheep.
This is all well-documented in the writings of the Early Church Fathers. And if you haven’t yet stumbled across them, I highly encourage you to find a credible school of ministry that will help you learn the language of the Holy Spirit. For Catholics, I highly recommend the Encounter School of Ministry (encounterschool.org).
Now that we understand how the word of God comes, we see it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see what the Spirit is saying. We just need a little faith and a heart that believes (Romans 10:9-10).
Thanks to Sir Tolkien, the word for this year came a lot easier for me. And, it didn’t require any loss of sleep!
If 2025 was the deep breath, naturally it follows, 2026 is the plunge.
Looking at the imagery Tolkien paints for us of the throngs of Mordor, it would also be natural to anticipate a year of heavy battle. But in this case, it’s not just Tolkien’s imagery that reveals what it is to come; it’s the Lord’s that we want to seek. Turning toward Him means turning the heart. Like St. Theresa of Avila tells us in her vision of the “Interior Castle,” God is found within the soul, in the place of purest depths. We need only knock and He will open the door for us to enter. It’s there in the garden of our souls where we now get to walk with God, again, like he intended for us from the beginning, with Adam.
There in the classroom of silence, God speaks in language we can comprehend.
Our discussions led me first to the Oxford Dictionary. A simple study of the word plunge brings up some wonderful imagery.
Verb
- jump or dive quickly and energetically.
- fall suddenly and uncontrollably.
- embark impetuously on a speech or course of action.
- suffer a rapid decrease in value.
- push or thrust quickly.
- put something in liquid so as to immerse it completely.
- suddenly bring into a specified condition or state.
- sink (a plant or a pot containing a plant) in the ground.
Noun
- an act of jumping or diving into water.
- a swift or drastic fall in value or amount.
Phrases
take the plunge – commit oneself to a course of action about which one is nervous.
Already, like the young prophet Jeremiah, we can see our almond tree is telling us much about what is to come.
2026 will be a year to take the plunge. Consider what it is in your life that has you nervous and resolve to commit yourself to actions that will bring you to peace. Maybe you need to jump all-in energetically into something (or someone). Is there relationships that you are afraid of? God is inviting you to let go of control, be impetuous and cast your cares on Him, decrease so He can increase. Go all-in and take the plunge! Maybe there’s a goal or dream you’ve always wanted to accomplish but fear is holding you back from beginning? This is the year to push yourself to achieve it, immerse yourself in to planning the steps to attain it, be prepared for the suddenlies God has in store for you this year, have courage if He asks you to plant yourself in places that scare you. Dig in and take the plunge!
But the plunging doesn’t stop with Oxford imagery, either.
Consider what it is to plunge down a water slide. The feeling of shear fear mixed with excitement just before you take a deep breath and jump in. The experience of plunging can be just as exhilerating as it can be fearful. We may wonder, What if I get stuck in all the twists and turns? What if I get dizzy? What if I throw up? What if they have to call an ambulance to get me out like that poor guy on the cruise ship who got stuck when the water stopped flowing accidentally? (Seriously! it’s a fear for large people.) The anxiety before the plunge can be enough to keep us from doing it, which is why God’s word for us just the year before was to breathe. If you’ve spent the year doing so, then you already get the sense that you’re ready for the plunge. Whether exciting or scary, you already feel His Peace in your lungs. And, you also know that after you step into all those what ifs, into the unknown with intention, there’s what happens when you come out the otherside. Most people are ready to do it again.
And sometimes plunging has its ugly side. If we consider a toilet for a moment. One who plunges there is likely to encounter some aweful disgusting things, suddenly. Things that might make them queasy or gag, uncontrollably. Things that may sink their resolve and perseverence. They may even find themselves immersed in it. But when the plunging is all done, what happens next? The pipes are clean. The system flushes correctly. Everything is back in order. Maybe this is the year you will need a good plunge to get back to a better version of you. Hopefully, you’re one of the luckier ones and it only takes a cold plunge to do it!
I can’t tell you exactly what this year will hold for you anymore than I could see in the last one, at its onset, that the pope was going to die, we’d get a new bishop, friends would get divorced, parents would lose their children to illness, others their parents in a matter of weeks, a spouse die suddenly, an acquaintance win the lottery, the Eagles beat the Chiefs. But, I can tell you Who it is that holds it. And, it’s Him I’m hoping we all can turn to and collectively say at the end of this year, “Thank you, Lord, for helping me take the plunge.”
My advice for this year: Do whatever He tells you.
And, if it is the gates of Mordor you are about to plunge into, I pray the Lord keeps you meek and humble of heart. Be of good courage, He can be Trusted. Take the plunge.
