New Year’s Catholic Resolution

Life is a constant struggle and often times it takes us way too long to figure out what the problem is. This holds true with our never-ending struggle with sin. As humans, we will inevitably sin throughout our lives, but we can work to overcome those sins and temptations by bringing ourselves closer to Jesus. This is the only way we can overcome these challenges that will constantly face us. With the beginning of the new Catholic year, upon us, it got me thinking about New Year’s in general. More specifically New Year’s resolutions. Yes, pretty much everybody has tried to do a resolution, and most have failed. However, I have a Catholic Resolution for you to try if you’d like.

This year try doing a Catholic resolution that will not only help you to examine yourself but bring you closer to Jesus. Nothing against the gym, but this sounds more rewarding anyway. It starts by doing a thorough examination of your conscience, which is the first step before going to confession, but this time try a more in-depth examination. Think St. Augustine’s “Confessions” type in depth. You don’t have to write a book about it but try thinking way back in your past. Once you have finished, pray about what you discovered. There will probably be some range of emotions. Sadness for what you have done wrong, but you should also feel extreme happiness for the Lord forgives and loves! Talk to God about where you went astray and what you did right. Just sit and relax in his presence. This is so important because it allows you to become more comfortable with God by talking to him about your mistakes, asking him for forgiveness, and how to improve yourself.

Once you have done this, try to get to confessions as soon as you can. Allow yourself to be honest and thorough with the priest about what you had discovered during your examination of your conscience. This may be very difficult and uncomfortable for many, but the level of comfort and connection to God afterward will be a great reward. The priest often times will offer some advice and comfort as well, which is always a plus. Pray afterward in the pew, trying not to rush through your penance offered by the priest, but really feel it. Try praying with some of the passion that Jesus did in Luke 22:44:

“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

If you find yourself having a particularly good prayer session after your confession, while in the pews, maybe stick around for a little. You can always pray more than your penance from the priest, God won’t mind.

Next in preparation for your Catholic New Year’s resolution is repentance. Now you are probably thinking, “But I thought I already repented during my examination of conscience? Why do I have to do it again?” The reason why is our concept of repenting often times is only half of what it means. Here in America particularly, repent has an apocalyptic tone to it. We see it on billboards or people holding up signs that say, “Repent he is coming!” Those images often times are used in the movie industry to give off a sense of doom. I believe this is caused by a misunderstanding of the origin of the word. Today we think of it usually in terms of feeling remorse and regret for our actions. The original Greek word for repentance is, μετάνοια, ‘metanoia’, which meant to rethink, or change one’s mind. Now that we understand it in its original context, we can see how it is important to repent before deciding on our Catholic New Year’s resolution. We must rethink our lives and see what we need to change to become more like Jesus and ultimately closer to God. St. John the Baptist was the first to proclaim it in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. We can see this in Matthew 3: 1-11

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Once you have repented fully (rethought) your faith and life, you are ready to create your Catholic New Year’s resolution.

I recommend before deciding on your Catholic resolution, that you do some research on the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. It relayed some startling messages from Our Lady about our current state of society to three young children in Portugal. In 1917, Mary warned of the state our world was experiencing. World War I was in force and was one of the worst atrocities our world had seen to date. Without getting into all the apparitions and messages she expressed to the children, the main message was that the world needed to repent and do penance. She said that many souls are lost and need prayers to help them in the afterlife. Mary offered us a guide for how to assist our world, the souls in the afterlife, and better prepare our souls for heaven. These apparitions were a warning and a great blessing from Our Lord. The apparitions ended in a great miracle known as the Miracle of the Sun. The first World War also ended a year later, however, World War II began 21 years later. World War II and the current state of our world, I believe shows that we need to do more, specifically what Mary called for. We need to make the rosary a key part of our lives in our Catholic faith and make our lives centralized around Jesus Christ. Two final thoughts regarding Fatima that really resonated with me. The first, Lucia, one of the children asked Mary about her and her two cousins going to heaven. Mary responded by saying that Lucia and her cousin Jacinta would go to heaven, however, Francisco must say many more rosaries to go to heaven, he was 8 years old. Lucia also asked about whether her friend Amelia was in heaven. Mary responded to this question by saying, “Amelia will be in Purgatory till the end of the world.” Amelia was around 19 when she passed away. Where does that leave us? I highly recommend reading the many texts or watching some of the movies that were made about this extraordinary event.

In light of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, penance must be a central focus of our Catholic resolution. Only through prayer and penance can we prepare ourselves for Heaven and help the souls who are in the afterlife. Hopefully, this can inspire and assist you to make a Catholic resolution for this New Year. Rethink your faith and see where you are thriving and where you are struggling. Try to make improvements wherever you can to grow closer to God, because that is ultimately what this life is all about. If you are struggling to do this, maybe seek out your local priest for some spiritual guidance. There are some amazing priests out there that have so much to offer us, if we are willing to listen. One last thing to remember, it is never too late to repent and accept the forgiveness that only Our Father has to offer. Take it from the Penitent Thief who was forgiven by and crucified with Christ in Luke 23: 39-43.

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.””

It is never too late for God, he loves us unconditionally and is always looking for us to turn to him, even in our last moments.