[caption id="attachment_1644" align="alignright" width="150"] Blog by Sr. Barbara Kane, OP[/caption] Whenever I read the words of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, I immediately start humming the tune of the song written by Pete Seeger and sung by the folk rock group the Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!  While praying (and humming) this, it occurred to me that these words might serve as a framework for how we could live in 2018. We will experience both birth and death and should be grateful for both. We will plant seeds of peace, and pluck their fruits to share with others. We will kill the urge to judge, and heal broken relationships. We will break down the fences that separate us, and build up roads that bring us together. We will weep over injustice, and laugh when justice prevails. We will mourn the loss of loved ones, and dance that they are united with God. We will throw away the stones of lies that tear down, and gather stones of truth that build up. We will embrace diversity, and refrain from embracing labels that keep us apart. We will seek God in the faces of others, and lose the doubt that God is in us too. We will keep the love of God in our hearts, and cast away fear. We will rend the division that separates us and sew together our commonalities. We will keep silent so that we can hear God’s voice, and then, speak for the voiceless. We will love because we are loved, and hate that we so often fail to love in return. We will wage war on injustice, and work tirelessly for peace. May we all be able to keep these resolutions.  Happy New Year!