New Year’s Resolutions for 2015

CS cathedral2

CS cathedral2

Another year has been given to us by God. For many of us, this could be our last. So while we can, let’s make some really good new year’s resolutions to get closer to Christ.

RESOLVE TO START FASTING

Jesus says famously in Luke 5:35 that his followers would fast after Jesus, the bridegroom, has been taken away. He didn’t say they MIGHT fast; rather he said that they WILL fast. Jesus also said in Matthew 6:18 that your Father in heaven will reward you if you fast in secret. The Didache (DID-uh-kay), or the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” an early first century document (Chapter 8), recommends fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. While the Didache is not scriptural, it does give us an insight and commentary as to how the early Church Fathers operated. Additionally, the Didache, in Chapter 1, recommends fasting for those who persecute you.

Contrary to popular belief, Christian fasting does not necessarily mean going without food all day. Rather, it could mean only eating bread and water in 3 small meals with no snacking between meals. For those like me that find even this hard, it could mean skipping one meal a day to start out with, and then building on that approach throughout the year.

Of course, things like junk food, sugar and carbonated beverages that stretch out your stomach (so that it takes more food to fill it) make fasting very hard, so cutting these things out of your diet will make fasting a lot easier.

RESOLVE TO BEGIN HELPING THE POOR

This is a no-brainer for Christians. Jesus  says in Matthew 25:40 that when you help the poor, you help him. He also  says that unless you help the poor, you aren’t getting into heaven (Matthew 25:45-46). Helping the poor may be as simple as visiting someone in the hospital or giving money to a homeless person on the street. It may mean joining the local St. Vincent de Paul organization at your parish, one of the greatest organizations in the world for helping the poor. Regardless of what you choose to do, your effort must have a component of commitment. Helping the poor on a personal level, and not just expecting the impersonal government to do it all, is the key to not only aiding the needy, but transforming yourself into the image of Christ. After all, who in their right mind admires and wants to be like Ebenezer Scrooge?

RESOLVE TO ATTEND DAILY MASS

St. John Vianney once famously said the following:

“All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.”

Here St. John Vianney is saying that even if you are martyred for the faith (and that is a GREAT thing!), going to one Mass is even greater than that! It is amazing that so many people find the Mass boring or “don’t get anything out of it.”  Jesus is what you get out of the Mass in the Eucharist! This is the same Jesus who is going to judge you after you are dead! Wouldn’t it be better to become friends with your eternal judge now, rather than be a stranger to him at your final judgment?  After all, the devil gets seven days a week to tempt you and to try to make you sin. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could counteract the wiles of satan, who wants to drag you into hell, with seven days of receiving Jesus in your soul?

Here are a few more quotes from the saints which reveal the true hidden (to our fallible senses) meaning of Holy Mass:

“When the Eucharist is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels who adore the divine victim immolated on the altar.” — St. John Chrysostom

“The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.” — St. Augustine

“If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.” — Saint Jean Vianney 

“The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross.”– Saint Thomas Aquinas 

“Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God’s Goodness and asked Our Lord “How can I thank you?” Our Lord replied, “ATTEND ONE MASS.”” 

“My Son so loves those who assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that, if it were necessary, He would die for them as many times as they’ve heard Masses.” — Our Lady to Blessed Alan. 

“When we receive Holy Communion, we experience something extraordinary – a joy, a fragrance, a well-being that thrills the whole body and causes it to exalt.”– Saint Jean Vianney 

“There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.”– Saint Jean Vianney 

“When we have been to Holy Communion, the balm of love envelops the soul as the flower envelops the bee.” — Saint Jean Vianney 

“It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass.” — St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

RESOLVE TO ATTEND EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

There is so much noise and so many distractions in our life that try to separate us from God. The Catholic Church counteracts all of this with the opportunity to just go and sit quietly and adore Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. When we do this, we become like the Three Wise Men who also came to adore Christ. This is one of the wisest uses of our time during the week, because Jesus downloads his will for us into our hearts and minds, and what could be better than knowing the will of God?  NOTHING!  If the Pope was coming to your parish, everyone would be trying to get in to see him. But let Jesus be exposed in the Blessed Sacrament, and how few try to come in to see him!  By committing to sit with Jesus one hour a week, we are answering “YES!” to his question, “Could you not watch one hour with me?”

Again, here are some quotes from the saints on this very holy practice:

“A Holy Hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is so important to Jesus that a multitude of souls go to heaven that otherwise would have gone to hell.” – Blessed Dina Belanger

“Every Holy Hour we make so pleases the heart of Jesus that it is recorded in heaven and retold for all eternity.” – Blessed Mother Teresa

“A Holy Hour of Adoration is sharing in the work of redemption.” — Archbishop Sheen

“Our Lord hears our prayers everywhere, but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Eucharist will obtain a more abundant measure of grace.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori

“Do you want the Lord to give you many graces?  Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely. Do you want the devil to attack you?  Visit Jesus rarely in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you want him to flee from you?  Visit Jesus often!” – St. John Bosco

And even if your parish doesn’t have Eucharistic Adoration, you can still stop by and visit Jesus in the Tabernacle.

CONCLUSION

There are still other things one can resolve to do, like praising God more (For example, turn off the car radio and instead sing “Praise to the Lord,” “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” and “Holy God We Praise Thy Name.”). We can also resolve to begin spiritual warfare by saying our Rosary daily. Saying the Rosary on a daily basis is one of the best ways to overcome our sinful nature and bad habits, as Mother Mary comes to us with many graces to help us. By praying the Rosary daily, we learn to love and to forgive, two very necessary elements required for our salvation.

The bottom line is that 2015 may be our last year on planet earth, and now is the time, this is the place, to start preparing for eternity. Tomorrow may be too late. G.K. Chesterton once said that “only dead things go with the current; it takes live things to swim against it.”  And with the current of filth that seems to be so prevalent in our culture, all of the above recommendations are ways to come alive and to not only swim against this current, but also to latch onto others and bring them along with us to glory!

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1 thought on “New Year’s Resolutions for 2015”

  1. Pingback: New Orders Spring For New Evangelization - BigPulpit.com

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