Entering into the new year of 2016, as people of faith we confront a number of on-going challenges. The rise of militant secularism affects much of our media, entertainment and political life.

Within the Church herself there are signs of diminishing commitment to Jesus Christ and to the faith. The number of people adoring and worshiping Christ at Mass continues its slow but seemingly relentless slide.

The statistics on marriage, both the declining numbers of those entering into that great sacrament and the continuing damage and pain from broken marriages, are sobering and saddening.

And our Catholic young people continue to struggle with their questions about the faith and their commitment to it, especially in their college years.

Still, one of our great gifts is the theological virtue of hope. We are the followers of Jesus. We trust that He is with us always until the end of the ages. He guides and protects His Church, even when the boat is getting rocked by the heavy winds. So however challenging the future or dark the skies, we are positive and hopeful.

At the beginning of this new calendar year, then, we should combine our hope with a sense of realism of the problems we face, and our commitment to live our lives of faith accordingly. How might we do that for the coming year?

First, why not look at the most fundamental building block in a life of faith? That would be prayer. Do we have a daily and personal prayer life? Do we listen and speak to Christ in that silent conversation of the heart that each of us can do only alone? What about feeding that sense of prayer with help from reading the Scriptures or lives of the saints? Or what about a visit to Church just to pray?

At the core of the increasing secularism of our society is a rejection of God. It is the exact opposite of prayer. And so prayer must be where we start.

As we join Pope Francis in our concern for marriage and society, we need to relearn what has been a lesson of traditional wisdom. Prayer in the family and active prayer shared by husband and wife is both a spiritual and earthly glue to keep us together, in good times and bad.

A second way to direct our faith and hope is to recognize that we are part of a family and community of faith that extends worldwide. That has special meaning as we hear, day after day, of the sufferings and even the martyrdom of our fellow Christians in Africa, China, the Middle East and throughout the world.

In the Levant, the Christmas bells that have been heard with joy since the earliest days of the Church have, in many places, gone silent. The oppression inflicted by Daesh or ISIS (also called ISIL) has killed many of our fellow Catholics (and other minorities as well), or forced them to flee their homes.

They feel abandoned and, at times, forgotten. But our prayers and our support must be with them. We must name them before God each day. And we must respect and revere their sacrifice,  which shows us the courage and the value of faith. Then we need to draw the connection between the consequences of disrespecting religious freedom abroad and the growing trend in our own country.

Finally, this new year should be a time to pray for our priests. For any flaws or weaknesses that they may show, as we all do, their presence and witness among us is a gift to our faith. When did you last pray for your parish priest? When was his name last presented in gratitude before God?

And as part of prayer for priests, pray for more vocations to the priesthood this year. Is there a particular young man in your family or in your parish who might make a great priest? Place his name before God as well. We are told to ask the master of the harvest for more workers, and our joyful hope trusts that He will send them to us.

At the start of 2016, there are many elements of darkness that surround us. But it is precisely then that we are most hopeful because Jesus is most present to us. Let’s make 2016 a year of prayer, of hope and of joy.