The following is an excerpt of an article that appeared on Catholic Exchange on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. I am grateful to CE for publishing my work!

It may be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a trying year on all of us. We have dealt with a contentious presidential election that is still largely unresolved. We have faced a global pandemic that has caused economic ruin and social isolation on a historic scale. This latter has surely brought pain and suffering to each of us personally as we may have lost jobs or (in my case just yesterday) experienced the death of friends. Our Church also has recently been made aware of the horrific details contained in the McCarrick Report, about sexual abuse at the highest levels.

We all want 2020 to end…yesterday!

Yet, we know that it will continue for a little more than a month now. So, where and to whom can we turn for hope, even if these next five weeks last a little longer than we might like? One great place for Catholics to turn is to “America’s bishop,” Fulton Sheen. Ever the great preacher and wordsmith, Sheen provided some great advice to Americans in mid-century, which we can appropriate as we watch 2020 draw to a close.

Click here to read the rest of the article on CatholicExchange.com.