2 AM and she calls me ’cause I’m still awake…
Sitting here on this New Year’s morning, my body growns under heavy eye lids to embrace the sweet surrender to sleep but her voice calls out to me from the deep. This is Her day, afterall. A most blessed and holy day.
I’m not entirely certain of the message she wishes me to convey, though it beckons forth like a song, illuminating darkened halls. I’ve learned through the years that when she calls, it’s worth the sacrifice to hear her.
In the wee hours of the first embers of a new year, I am drawn by the sense of a profoundness in a single word. Many a soul declares this time of year their “word for the year” and I watch with anticipation as they languish over it. I’m fascinated by the means they discover it. An online quiz, a random Bible hunt, a word from the Lord himself, all seem to draw out the poets in mens hearts.
The more I pondered the word that came to me, I mused inwardly at its origins. Was this manmade by my own longing? Was it akin to random thoughts? Or was this something more inherent from the depths of a place I have only a knowing of?
The answer was confirmed to me through my thirteen-year-old son.
When I told him the word upon my heart, he smiled quickly. A flicker, no, a flash of light moved hence across his eyes and I felt as though a secret fire had kindled within him.
“It reminds me of when Gandalf told Pippin, ‘It’s the deep breath before the plunge.'”
My soul rejoiced. For out of the mouth of babes came the light of truth spoken with more depth than as if J.R.R. Tolkien had spoken it himself.
How much my soul longs for the the depths of Creation as seen with the eyes of one who has shaped this middle earth.
“The burden is heavy, but the heart of man is not easily broken… Only the pure in heart can wield it.”
Breathe. Just breathe.
Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
2025 will not just be another year to walk in the Breath of God but one where we must poignantly and with great intention breathe Him in.
Four years ago I received a word from the Lord in the spirit of prophecy that highlighted the 5 years to follow. This year 2025 was near the end of that glimpse. The heading of the article summed up the year as follows: 2025-A Year to Open the Window and Breathe; God’s Grace is Enough.
It’s no coincidence to find the breathe so connected to this year, as the Hebrew calendar year 5785 parallels this same year and the letter which symbolizes the number 5 is the Hebrew “hey”, a literal picture symbolic of a window and it’s phonetic sound is the pronunciation of the breath through the mouth like the wind through a window. Imagine the sound of the wind whisping through an open crack, now imagine the sound as it wooshes through an open window, or a cave, like Moses standing in the rock. Only it’s not God himself that is in the wind but it’s His breath. This is the picture essence of this year and one that Tolkien captures so eloquently in the words of Gandalf the White as he is peering out into the tumult they cannot fully see nor comprehend yet but is most definitely lying just over the horizon. And, the meaning conveyed in the heart of Job when he suggests it is the very breath of God which compels him to live.
Like Moses, Gandalf, and Job, we may not be able to see perfectly into the future or know the mind of God, but if we pay attention to where He is breathing we will find him in the silence that follows between breaths.
Like Moses, Gandalf, and Job, we may find ourselves in the midst of sudden leadership and the burden of many hearts to lead. We may see a world thrown into tumult where once there was only peace. Or maybe we will experience sudden heartache and loss that will test our faith and burden us with the weight of virtue in suffering as we become an example to others. It is in the silence of these most difficult times that we find God and can know His peace and His plans for us. It is in learning to recognize the breath of dawn at work in the color of the sunset and the signs and wonders around us that we can become attune to that which is still yet hidden over the horizon and prepare our hearts, and others, for what is to come.
Tolkien wrote in his ‘Silmarillion’ how the Lord used the song of the angels to create the world and gave gifts to the Children of the Father (men) to do the same. I cannot help but wonder how much more magnificent this world could be if we still believed our song and gifts could effect the powers of the earth. In Judaism, they have an understanding of this transformation of creation in the phrase ‘Tikkun Olam’, which is the belief that every jew is called to mission in some way for ‘repairing the world’. This same sentiment is expressed in Christianity in Psalm 104:30, “When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.”
While there is great power in the blood of Jesus Christ, it is the breath of His Spirit which creates and renews life. This distinction is often overlooked by many who call themselves believers and followers of Jesus Christ. Yet it is a resounding theme in both the Old and New Testaments, so much so, that John captures it in his telling of how Jesus breathed on them just days after his death (John 20:22). An act that is highly symbolic of the breath of God breathed into Adam in the book of Genesis.
So here I am, having felt His breath in an old song by Anna Nalick (Breathe, 2AM) and sensing His presence in the silence of my own heart, fighting my knee jerk reaction to simply hold my own breath and let Him pass by, that I am typing out these ponderings about the year ahead. Why? Because I know it’s His breath that animates everything. It’s His breath animating the grace through His Mother, and the saints who enter into Tikkun Olam with us even now from their seats in heavenly places. It’s His breath in the lungs of singers like Anna whose lyrics may sound strange but offer more proof that music and songs from the heart can affect change in others and Tikkun Olam. It’s His breath at work in men like Moses, Job, and Tolkien whose stories live far beyond their pages and prove even more that the past and the ancients are not really dead but continue to Tikkun Olam, for “that which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been” Ecclesiastes 3:11. It’s His breath in our lungs that literally repairs the blood cells in our body empowering it to flow more cleanly. To breathe is literally to repair! Seriously, take another look at an Anatomy book and ponder how amazing it is that your lungs and blood work so dependantly upon each other. You will be amazed at what breathing can really do to renew your body! (Another reason why spiritual meditations like the Rosary and Lectio Divina are so good for the body and not just the soul, but more on that for another time.)
Like Gandalf the White, I can’t tell you exactly what lies behind the horizon and into the great plunge ahead, but I can sense it’s there. And this year is the time to breathe. So, breathe in all that God can give you. Take this year to make repairs and allow God to renew what needs to be renewed in your life. Strengthen your mind, body, and lungs to breathe cleaner, stronger, and increase your intervals so that you can endure the plunge. Prepare your heart, your home, and all those God sends you but remember also that the driving force behind repairing the world is His breath and not yours. Trust God and the plans He has for you. Even if they scare you. Even if they look like nothing you expect. Let the Breath of God animate you to consolation, to courage, to conviction or whatever it is that you will need to Tikkun Olam in the days ahead.
For “In this day, I will pour out My consolation [Isaiah 44:3,Ezekiel 39:29,Joel 2:28-29].” Says the Lord. “My Spirit shall renew your Breath [Psalm 104:30]. You needn’t be anxious or do anything to gain it. My Renewal is for all, and all My Children will be refreshed. I have given you all power to overcome [Luke 10:19]. Find Me in the Silence and just breathe [Ecclesiastes 9:17].” To read more from the 5-year Prophetic Outlook I wrote about four years ago, click here.
I pray this year you find the way to breathe Him in and to breathe with Him and breathe through Him. That your heart may know His peace and find confidence for any battles that may come your way. Perhaps in this way, if we can commit ourselves this year to just breathe, the world will set about repairing itself more quickly and we might find ourselves in a New Age of Men, an Era of Peace. Let’s take a deep one, shall we?
Shalom Shalom
Written on the Feast of Mary, Mother of God
I’ve always respected this tradition of Catholics beginning the New Year with respect to the Blessed Mother of Our Lord, herein depicted as “The Virgin of the Lilies”. Why? Because it reminds me of the incredible amount of grace necessary to step into the unknown full of faith. As Mother of the Lilies of the Valley below, I’m reminded of my eternal place in Heaven’s Blessed Realm. As long as I stay near my Mother, I know the fragile nature of my soul shall be protected by the grace of her Motherhood, just as she protected the tiny soul of the King of the Universe when first He came as a little Lily in this valley below.
There are extraordinary graces when you honor Mary and consecrate the New Year under her grace.
Catholics also pray the Rosary to bless the New Year, a devotion that can and should be prayed daily. Why?
Because of what happens when you pray the Rosary:
“When you pray, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now….., the Blessed Mother comes instantly to your side to pray with you. And she does not come alone. She brings Angels with her. And not just one or two for she is the Queen of Angels, so choirs of angels come with her. And, she and Jesus are joined at the heart and can not be separated, so she brings Jesus with her. And Jesus can not be separated from the Trinity, so He brings the Father and the Holy Spirit with Him. And where the Holy Trinity is all of creation is and you are surrounded by such beauty and light as you cannot imagine in this life. Your Mother comes as Our Lady of Grace with her hands out-stretched. Rays of light emit from her hands piercing your body, healing you and filling you with graces. This is your inheritance which was poured out from the heart of Jesus on the Cross, when the centurion pierced His Heart with the spear, into the only pure vessel ready to receive such graces at that time,Your Mother. Now, as you pray the Rosary, or even just recite one Hail Mary, you receive your portion of these graces.”He also said at this time, “Anyone who goes to Mary and prays the Rosary cannot be touched by Satan.”
Is it any wonder that anyone who prays the Rosary from the heart is so blessed and protected and powerful in their prayers for others?”
-Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican
May you have a blessed and holy New Year ahead of you! 
