I thought it fitting to start the New Year with a comment by Pope Francis. “My hope is to remind people that the ‘Christmas Spirit’ is not over.” The Christmas season extends far beyond the commercial season we’ve been taught to believe is the reason for the season. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas Day and the message below stays with you all the yearlong.

The message of Bethlehem is indeed “good news of great joy.” What kind of joy? Not the passing happiness of this world, but the joy that consoles hearts, renews hope and bestows peace. It is the joy of the Holy Spirit: the joy born of be...