The saint looked sorrowfully at the soiled, bloated remnants on the floor. Was this the same new-minted year which had been sent out with so much celebration a mere fifty two weeks ago? Look at it! War and hatred tore huge holes in its fabric. Greed smeared it with its pervasive slime; hypocrisy crushed fledgling seeds of hope before they could take root, and the whole was sodden with tears of despair. The lurid scars of those great natural disasters which God had permitted in order to remind Man of the need to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Himself, merely emphasised how little effect the Holy Word now had on much of humanity.
Expeditus had seen many years returning in this terrible state lately, so much so that he wondered when God would decide to call a halt and do away with time entirely. Clearly not yet, since a new year had already been sent out and had taken the place of the old one. Man was still being given a chance to change his ways.
Sighing, he lifted his charge gently and carried it to the cleansing place. It would be a long process this time. But, as with previous years, he saw small gleams flicker as the fabric shifted and settled in his grasp. Acts of courage and mercy peeped through clouds of oppression and avarice. Under layers of sorrow and deep despair he caught glimpses of real happiness and love. There were other signs, too. Wasn’t that a child kneeling by its bedside, saying prayers, which flashed briefly before disappearing into the folds? And didn’t he just spot people of different faiths coming together in genuine harmony to help victims of misfortune?
St Jude looked on doubtfully as Expeditus gently laid the sad bundle down. Expeditus shook his head.
‘Not yet, Jude. The cause is not entirely lost. See, there is still some good in mankind – look here, and here.’ He stirred the fabric so that the small gleams briefly showed. ‘I can clean all the terrible things from this old year and then present what was good and clean back to God. But I must admit, the task gets harder every year. Perhaps 2025 will be the year that God calls ‘Enough!’