December 19, 2017 // Diocese

What is your New Year’s resolution?

Todays Catholic

FORT WAYNE — It will soon be New Year’s Eve, the time of year when many people give thought to adopting a New Year’s resolution.

The practice of making a New Year’s resolution can also be applied to one’s spiritual life. The approaching new year on the calendar, much like the start of the new Church year, is an opportunity to reflect on the previous year and make plans to do at least one small thing differently in the next.

Several clergy and employees of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend were asked what New Year’s resolution they planned to make that would help them grow closer to Christ in 2018, and what their advice would be to others who wish to endeavor toward the same end.

Msgr. William Schooler, pastor, St. Pius X Parish, Granger:

My New Year’s resolution is to take more time in prayer, especially not to rush through praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

Recommendation: If you want to deepen your prayer life, try praying some of the hours of the Breviary. There is a free app: iBreviary.

Rob Sordelet, principal, St. Charles Borromeo School, Fort Wayne:

The one spiritual New Year’s resolution I am planning is to attend Mass an additional day each week. The presence of the Eucharist, the reflections upon the readings and the homily, the community of togetherness and taking the time to gather my thoughts and pray for my family and those in my community only add God’s positives to my life and, through prayer and reflection, to others’ lives.

Recommendation: Just plan one achievable spiritual goal this year and work to make it a habit. Pray a decade of the rosary a day; nightly prayer before bedtime; visiting a lonely or elderly neighbor or relative; signing up as an usher at Mass. Whatever direction you feel God is pulling you, select one goal and build from there. 

Tami DeLucenay, DRE, St. Thomas the Apostle, Elkhart:

My husband and I are going on 33 years of our sacrament of marriage, and in 2018 we will be full-time empty nesters. My resolution is to deepen our couple prayer time together and discover how God is calling us to live out our sacrament and be a witness of His love to each other and to all we encounter.

Recommendation: When I was sharing my resolution with our daughter, she told me about a new devotional book for married couples written by Jackie Francois Angel and Bobby Angel: “Forever: A Catholic Devotion for Your Marriage.” Check it out, or find a daily devotional that will help your marriage grow and inspire you to live out the glory of God’s love and His call to love freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully.

Lisa Everett, director of Marriage, Family and Pro-Life Ministry:

I plan to spend ten minutes a day doing some spiritual reading, especially from the lives of the saints. I am always deeply inspired by the witness of faith of these close friends of Christ whenever I read about their lives or read their own writings, and I would like to do this in a more disciplined way in the new year. 

Recommendation: Start with a saint who particularly inspires you or appeals to you, and get a good biography or a book that contains the saints’ own writings, if one exists.

Slowly read a few pages before your daily prayer time, if possible, so that you can speak to God about what you have read and continue to ponder it as the day unfolds. 

Deacon James K. Fitzpatrick, Office of Worship:

My New Year’s Resolution for 2018 is to read for 15 minutes a day the books of the New Testament, starting with the Gospels.

Recommendation: I would suggest that you find a quiet comfortable place in your home, a place conducive to reading and reflection. Read slowly and deliberately; re-read passages. Some days you may read quite a bit, and on others you may read only a few verses; but spend more time reflecting on them.

Sister Clare, Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration:

My resolution is to be aware of the many blessings I receive from our Lord, and to take a moment to keep a list as I notice these blessings. There are so many blessings in my life, even simple things, like the smell of hot coffee in the morning or the sun shining through stained-glass windows in the chapel!

Recommendation: I recommend that everyone consider doing this, because I believe it is a way to see endless gifts and be able to focus on God’s goodness, generosity and mercy.