Around this time of year, the Jennifer Fulwiler Word of the Year and Saint’s Name generators are circling social media, and last year at this time, I looked forward to the word and saint that I would receive. Maybe it’s because I received a silly word (soar), or maybe it’s because I was inspired by the Word of the Year podcast produced by the Abiding Together gals for 2023 (or maybe a little of both), but I wasn’t content with taking the word some internet service gave me. After a bit of prayer and reflection, I decided my Word of the Year would actually be a couple of words: pace e bene.
To translate the phrase literally from Italian would be to say peace and good. I wanted to research the phrase a little further and came across a website for an organization I don’t wish to be an affiliate of; however, their site provided the information that I sought: “Pace e Bene” is an Italian greeting from St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi meaning “Peace and all Good.” It is a blessing, a hope, and a way of acknowledging the sacredness of those whom we encounter. This is a loaded definition. The couple of times I’ve visited Assisi, the souvenir shops were full of little plaques and signs with this phrase, but little trinkets can’t quite convey the gravity of this greeting. Initially, I was struck by the addition of the word all in the English translation. My heart in January of 2023 so desperately longed for a deep, lasting peace, and for all the seemingly bad things to be all good. Pace e bene could articulate a yearning that my little heart possessed: a yearning for peace, hope, reverence, and all good. The happenings of 2023 exceeded these desires beyond my wildest dreams—in both beautiful and challenging ways—by ultimately being exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.
I could write a book about how in awe I am of the absolute gift of this past year, but I’ll summarize with just 3 takeaways:
Daily prayer is a necessity and is completely life-altering.
More time existed in my day-to-day than I realized, so setting aside screens in favor of a book was so enlightening.
God desires to give me (and you) good gifts, but I (we) have to be willing and ready to accept them.
I look back on this year with so much gratitude, yet breathlessness. I’m exhausted! This year was so transformative and fulfilling in so many ways, and I owe all to He who is never outdone in generosity.
As I was contemplating using the Word of the Year Generator once more, a word kept coming back to me. Recently, my husband and I were presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A desire for this very thing had been placed on each of our hearts before we knew each other, so it seemed as though an obvious response to the opportunity would be a resounding YES. But I was convicted that, in order to say yes to this opportunity, I needed to be saying yes to something I believed would be apostolic. The endeavor couldn’t just be about satisfying our earthly desires, but it had to be about something more transcendent, something that ultimately drew us out of ourselves and into deeper union with God, involving a greater gift of ourselves to those placed in our lives.
For the year 2024, I have chosen the word apostolic. I desire to have a courage and zeal to fulfill the mission placed in front of me, just like the apostles of the early Church. I desire to find the extraordinary in every ordinary encounter. I desire to see each new opportunity as a great adventure.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Have a blessed 2024! Holy Apostles, pray for us!