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Catholic Faith Corner

Living in the Light
of Jesus Christ

First Days of the New Year 2017

I remember looking forward to 1984 when it was the title of a book about the future. All of a sudden it’s 2017! How did that happen? In case you are still deciding on your new year’s resolutions, here are some tips culled from Pope Francis and from my previous New Year posts:

First, Pope Francis’s practical suggestions for resolutions:

  1. Don’t gossip.
  2. Finish your meals.
  3. Make time for others.
  4. Choose the “more humble” purchase.
  5. Meet the poor “in the flesh.”
  6. Stop judging others.
  7. Befriend those who disagree.
  8. Make commitments, such as marriage.
  9. Make it a habit to “ask the Lord.”
  10. Be happy

Here are my suggestions:

  1. Reconnect with old friends and make some new friends.

2. Break some bad habits and form some good ones.

3. Get out of a rut and aim for the stars.

4. Listen to God in your heart and speak about him to others.

5. Stop wasting time and make every moment count.

6. Turn crosses into stepping stones.

7. Forgive hurts and ask pardon of others.

8. Dispose of unused clothes and clutter and buy something you need.

9. Feed the hungry and eat healthy yourself.

10. Avoid conflict and create peace.

11. Lose a distasteful job and take up a new hobby.

12. Surprise others and be surprised by them.

13. Love and be loved.

 

Here are some SMART tips for making resolutions:

Specific and include motivation and a plan for carrying out the goal.

Measurable with a clear result aimed at and a definite means to measure progress.

Achievable, something realistic for you (but challenging).

Results-focused, able to see concrete results.

Time-bound, with a timeline that urges and motivates you to attain the goal but allows for some slip-ups.

 

Other Tips for Making and Keeping Resolutions:

Make just one. That way we have a better chance of keeping it.

Ask a trusted and honest friend to suggest a resolution for you.

Write the resolution and place it where you will remember it.

Associate a daily activity with your resolution as a reminder, for example brushing your teeth.

Choose a day each month to review how well you are attaining your goal, maybe the first of each month . . . or the day of a full moon.

 

Finally, remember to ask the Holy Spirit, our wise guide, to help you choose a resolution, remember it, and keep it.

Blessings on your New Year of life!

 

 

 

2 Responses

  1. Sister Kathleen,

    These are excellent suggestions. I am going to enter them into my notebook and reflect on them in the new year. Thank you for each one.

    May we all try to do our best and make 2017 a blessed and holy year.

    Mary Day

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Jesus depends on us to spread the Good News of God’s love, offering the world hope and joy. Mary Kathleen, a Sister of Notre Dame from Chardon, Ohio, responds through writing, speaking, giving retreats, and teaching. Her motto, adopted from Eddie Doherty’s gravesite, is “All my words for the Word.”

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