New Year’s Resolutions and … God?

Posted on 30. Dec, 2010 by monsignor in Spiritual Insights, Winter 2011

What a year – 2010! We will never forget it. A year filled with job, pension, housing, and financial losses. Two Wars – Iraq and Afghanistan. A major drop in the Euro currency in Europe. A revolutionary mid-year American election. A Catholic Church in crisis. A rising fear of Islam in Europe and America. Major religions experiencing a drop in attendance at services.

Two words summarize 2010 – FRUSTRATION AND DEPRESSION. And now we enter the year 2011 like the early American pioneers searching for new hopes and visions. Will it happen? It can. It must. How?

As the year 2011 comes in let our New Year resolutions focus on two areas, namely the natural and the spiritual. Actually these two areas are entwined whether we realize or not. God and we are very special people. God is a loving and merciful person despite what some religious fanatics say. We – you and me – are His children and are basically good people. Sometimes we fail. However, many times we succeed to make His earth a better place to live. So let our New Year resolutions be constructive and uplifting. May I suggest these ideas:

The first resolution: To make the world a better and more beautiful place because we live in it. There are many ways to make the world a more beautiful and better place: plant bushes or plants around our homes, bring flowers or stuffed animals to someone in a nursing home, spend quality time with our kids (especially teenagers), send get-well cards to sick people and call friends who live far away.

The second resolution: Stop feeling sorry for ourselves. All of us have suffered the loss of a spouse, a parent, a child or a close friend. Either we can say,”woe is me” or we can move on. How? By getting involved in our synagogues, mosques or church organizations that reach out to the needy and the “lost.” Yes, we must give our time and talents to those who are less fortunate than we. Through our own personal sufferings we will touch these people. Perhaps without us they will give up and choose to end their lives.

In addition to religious organizations, many civil organizations in our communities, such as soup kitchens and homeless shelters, reach out. Join either a religious or civil organization. Give a day or at least a few hours. While we heal others, we heal ourselves.

The third resolution: Take time for our own spiritual welfare.

Attend religious services. If we have drifted, then it is time to come back. Read a spiritual book to discover a new vision of God.

Say a prayer or two everyday to make a personal communication with God.

So these three suggestions for New Year resolutions hopefully will make the year 2011 a better and brighter one than the previous year.

- Msgr. Leonard Badia