By Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension Presents - With each new year come new hopes, new plans, and new opportunities. Fr. Mike points out that this optimism and this “spirit” of New Year’s is a great inspiration for the interior life of the Christian. For each of us, last year probably had a fair mix of “wins” and “losses” - of joy and suffering. Fr. Mike zeroes in on what was probably the worst evil and the greatest suffering you encountered last year - sin. Sin can lead to discouragement and embarrassment, and those demons can keep us from moving forward in hope. ....