Ten New Year’s Resolutions To Keep Fit Spiritually In 2020

As the new year comes into view, many people are making their New Year’s resolutions. ERIN CARELSE suggests ten resolutions to strength our faith lives.

Every January most of us make our annual New Year’s resolutions believing that this will be the year.

Losing weight, exercising more regularly, getting a better job are just some of the resolutions that are at the top of most of our lists, but the practice of making a New Year’s resolution can also be applied to our spiritual life.

But how many of us make resolutions to become better Catholics and resolve to focus more on God?

Here are a few spiritual resolutions to help you kickstart 2020.

1. Pick a new saint

Start a new tradition where each year, you choose a different saint to journey with you for the next 12 months.

Choose one whom you would like to emulate in the new year and let them be your guide in difficult circumstances.

Your saint—or saints—will help you to grow in your relationship with God.

It’s also an opportunity for you to learn about these people who led lives of heroic virtue rooted in faith, hope and charity.

2. Attend a daily Mass

In our busy schedules, it may not always be possible to attend a daily Mass. But for 2020, try and think of ways in which you can arrange your schedule and activities to include just one extra Mass a week; or at least a month.

Most parishes offer daily Mass during the week in the morning, during lunch or in the evening.

Time shouldn’t give you too much of an excuse. Weekday Masses usually don’t last long, as there is often no singing and you have small groups attending.

If your schedule doesn’t allow for change, find out when your local church keeps its doors open, and try to add time for Adoration outside Mass, even if just for 15 minutes.

3. Go to confession

Start the year off right! If it’s been a while since you’ve gone to confession, or if you struggle with going to confession regularly, consider making it a New Year’s resolution.

It’s easy for many of us to skip going to confession for weeks, months, or even years. A first we might have procrastinated, and then maybe became embarrassed about how long it has been since our last confession.

If this is you, this year, make a concerted effort to go to and make it a family affair.

Most parishes offer confession at least once a week, but speak to your priest if you can’t attend the specific time, and schedule an appointment.

4. Daily or weekly rosary

Rosaries are not just decorations to hang in your car or on your walls. The rosary is a powerful tool of prayer and the mysteries represent the significant events in the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Maybe 2020 is the year to take the rosary more seriously. The rhythm of the repetitious prayers can have a profound spiritual effect.

Begin with a decade each day, and move your way up—or pray it once a week.

All a decade takes to pray is one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.

It’s a great way to take a pause in your day, to regroup with the Lord and be nourished.

5. Make a pilgrimage

Make time for your spiritual wellbeing by making a pilgrimage. It is a beautiful opportunity for us Catholics to deepen our faith life and grow closer to Christ. There is so much to see and learn from visits to holy shrines.

With that being said, this doesn’t mean you have to go to Rome. Look up local shrines—be it Ngome or Schoenstatt or just your cathedral— because a successful pilgrimage isn’t about the distance you’ve travelled but about your commitment to the journey.

If you can afford it, go on a retreat. There are many great retreat facilities throughout South Africa.

6. Get involved in the parish

Whether you belong to a small or a huge parish, participation by  members is vital for growth and sustainability.

This year, consider becoming a choir member, usher, reader or extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.

Look at your God-given attributes, and think about how you can use them best. Check your bulletin, or call your parish office and see where the need is.

7. Invite a priest for dinner

For some, this may be a daunting idea, but inviting your priest for dinner is a way to show your appreciation for all that he does for you and your community.

Many priests leave behind the families who raised them and commit themselves to serving Christ. When they feel supported and appreciated, we encourage their vocations.

It’s also an opportunity for you and your family to engage and learn from your priest.

Offering a priest a home-cooked meal can be a real treat and blessing for him, especially if he lacks the time, energy or talent to cook for himself.

Alternatively, offer to commit yourself to cooking a few meals a month for your priest and dropping them off. It doesn’t have to be a fancy meal.

8. Practise forgiveness

We tend to forget that forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. So choose to resolve to forgive somebody who you feel has left you resentful and angry—even if they don’t really deserve it.

Healing begins with forgiveness and through forgiveness. You may free the one who is forgiven, but more importantly, you also liberate yourself.

Also ask for forgiveness from somebody who feels resentful and angry towards you, whether you think they are right or not.

Forgiveness heals wounds, and it may heal estranged relationships, especially within families.

9. Support Catholic media

The aim of any Catholic media should be to inform, to form and to inspire, and we are blessed to have an array to choose from.

We have The Southern Cross as our national Catholic weekly, and in some areas diocesan newspapers.

We have magazines like Worldwide and Trefoil.

Radio Veritas is our radio station, which we can access even if we’re not in Gauteng on DStv or streamed on the Internet.

Spotlight.Africa is a great digital resource, and the Jesuit Institute produces great podcasts to inspire us.

These are all vital forms of Catholic media that weave together points of faith, politics and heart-warming stories of hope. Social communications provide us with a Catholic dimension that is usually missing in other media.

And Catholic media can help in evangelisation and formation.

They are the voice that provides insight and can mobilise Catholics, and through their news, analysis, columns and features you get to see the world through Catholic eyes.

Isn’t that a wonderful way to increase your understanding of your faith?