As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family as well as approach the New Year of 2026, I invite you to pray about your New Year’s resolution with your family in mind. When I look back on my Advent, the quote above from Fr. Larry Richards comes to mind. As you probably heard in my homily a few weeks ago, on the first Sunday of Advent I was at my parents’ house and I heard a big clunk upstairs. When I entered my parents’ room, I saw my dad dazed on the floor, lying there, not looking good. After I called my sisters to the scene, (who are two nurses, praise God) they determined that he needed to go to the hospital. As I drove home that evening, the possibility of my dad dying that night was very real.
That night before bed, the story Fr. Larry Richards gave about his own dad came to mind. He often shared that it wasn’t until his father was on his deathbed that he told him he loved him. It made me think, how often do I tell my dad that I love him. Not much. It is a guy thing. When I leave the house, I often say “peace,” “good night,” “have a great week,” “enjoy your life!” Seldom do I say, “I love you.” I know my family knows I love them, but it needs to be said. It needs to be heard. It is essential to our humanity. Just like we need to hear that we are forgiven in the confessional, we need to hear that we are loved and we need to tell the people we love that we love them.
In one of Fr. Larry Richard’s blogs titled “Be a Dad,” he wrote this, “I have been to a lot of deathbeds throughout my priesthood, so I know what it is going to be like when you are dying. While you are lying there, the thing that is going to be most important to you is your relationships—the people that you loved and the people that in return loved you. Then why don’t we live every day with that in mind? Make the decision to never let your wife or your kids go to bed or walk out the door without telling them first that you love them—life is just too short! It will change your family. It will change the world.”
This new year, will you let the people you love know that you love them? With God’s grace, I hope to live this well and pray you do the same. You never know, it may change the world!
God bless your families and 2026!
Fr. Jeremy
