There’s Still Something Left in This Year

[Note: Today’s guest blogger is Rev. Alvin Simpson, the Assistant Music Director of Mass Choir at Spiritus. We’re grateful for all of the love and energy that Alvin brings to our liturgies each week and appreciate this blog contribution as well.]

I’m sitting in the New York Proton Center today (a cancer clinic in NYC), waiting as my godbrother goes through his initial appointment. And in the stillness of waiting, my mind started wandering.

Somehow, we are approaching the final quarter of 2026.

October. November. December.

The season of harvest, then Advent, then Christmas, and before we know it, we’ll be standing at the doorway of another year.

And what a year it has been.

There is so much happening around us and across the world. So many people are carrying uncertainty, grief, financial pressure, health concerns, family challenges, unanswered questions, and prayers that haven’t quite received an answer yet.

Yet here we are.

Still here. Still becoming. Still believing.

Harvest: Look Again

Our scriptures remind us: “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” — Galatians 6:9

Before you decide that 2026 hasn’t produced enough, look again.

Not every harvest looks like money, accomplishments, degrees, promotions, or doors opening.

Sometimes the harvest is wisdom.
Sometimes it’s stronger boundaries.
Sometimes it’s discovering who truly belongs in your life.
Sometimes it’s endurance.
And sometimes the harvest is simply realizing, “I survived something I once thought would break me.”

There is fruit growing in places you may have overlooked.

Advent: Keep Expecting

Advent teaches us how to wait.

Not passive waiting, but hopeful expectation.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” — Isaiah 40:31

There are things some of us hoped would happen by now. They haven’t.

That doesn’t mean we stop believing.

Sitting here today in a place where people are confronting illness with medicine, technology, family, faith, and hope reminds me that tomorrow is worth believing in.

You may not know exactly what comes next. Keep walking anyway.

Christmas: Make Room for Joy

Christmas reminds us that hope entered a world that was far from perfect.

“The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” — John 1:5

Maybe that’s important to remember this year. Life doesn’t have to become perfect before we allow ourselves to experience joy.

You can laugh while you’re healing.
You can celebrate while you’re waiting.
You can be grateful while acknowledging that some things still hurt.
You can miss someone who is no longer at the table and still cherish everyone who remains around it.

Joy and difficulty can occupy the same space.

Before We Rush Into 2027…

I’m not ready to throw 2026 away just yet.

There are still conversations to have.
People to love.
Apologies to make.
Boundaries to establish.
Prayers to pray.
Dreams to work toward.
Memories to create.
And people who need to hear “I love you” while they can still hear us say it.

Psalm 90:12 says: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Maybe the goal for these last three months isn’t simply to finish strong.

Maybe it’s to finish present.

Present with our families.
Present with ourselves.
Present with God.
Present enough to recognize what this year has taught us instead of being so anxious for January that we miss October, November, and December.

When midnight finally comes on December 31, I don’t need to say 2026 was perfect.

I want to be able to say:

I lived.
I loved.
I learned.
I cried.
I laughed.
I planted.
I waited.
I harvested.
I believed.
And through it all, I kept going.

There is still something left in this year.

Don’t rush past it.

Songs for Reflection & Meditation

Sometimes a song can help us sit with what our hearts haven’t quite found the words to say. As we enter these final months of 2026, these are a few worth spending some quiet time with:

“Seasons” — Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers — a reminder that life moves in seasons, and what feels dormant may simply be waiting for its appointed time.
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” — for looking backward and recognizing all the ways God carried us, even through moments we weren’t sure we would make it through.
“Encourage Yourself” — Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers — for those moments when encouragement isn’t coming from anywhere else and you have to speak hope back into yourself.
“Total Praise” — Richard Smallwood — for remembering where our help comes from when life feels heavier than we can carry alone.
“The Best Is Yet to Come” — Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers — for looking toward what is still possible. And keep your ears open — the choir will be sharing this one at a Mass near you soon!

“Never Would Have Made It” — Marvin Sapp — for looking back over 2026 and realizing just how much you’ve survived, how much you’ve grown, and how far grace has carried you.

So maybe before rushing into the next season, take a moment.

Put on a song.
Sit quietly.
Pray.
Remember.
Give thanks.
And allow yourself to hope again.

Harvest reminds us to recognize what grew.
Advent teaches us to wait with expectation.
Christmas reminds us that light still enters dark places.
And the New Year reminds us that God is still writing.

There is still something left in 2026.