New Beginnings

As we welcome the coming of a new year, this is the perfect time for New Beginnings!  Now that we have said goodbye to yet another quickly fleeting year, we can also put behind us the many instances of imperfection that we have demonstrated so perfectly this past year.  God, in His infinite wisdom, has placed before us each year, a great opportunity to start anew!

If you have not done so already, you may find some time this week to take a few moments and ask God to show you where He would like you to have a fresh start.  What areas of your life have you lost your enthusiasm and have fallen into the rut of mediocracy?  Where in your character do you find is the result of most of your conflicts with the people around you?  Is there someone or something that God has put into your life that could use your attention or example?  What about your prayer life or the lack-there-of?  Take to prayer your desires to be closer to Jesus, to be virtuous, the healthiest version of yourself or your desire to incorporate a daily rosary in this New Year.  Ask the Blessed Mother for the graces to follow through with where you want to begin anew!

We may even consider finding 3 small things to breath new life into 3 aspects of our being- Our physical aspect, our spiritual aspect and our love of neighbor.

Is there something that we can do to jump start our desires to care for our bodies in a more perfect way?  Is there a way to incorporate healthier foods into your diet or meal planning or even a small set of exercises or walking that you could do daily?  How about for our spiritual health?  Is there a part of your day that you have available to set aside for prayer?  Have you considered praying a daily rosary or divine mercy chaplet?  What about finding the time to make a weekly commitment to go to just one daily mass extra a week or 1 holy hour?  Have you ever considered reading the Scriptures for 5 minutes a day?  What has God put on your heart to draw you closer to Him? And lastly, who around you could use your prayers, time or charity?  Do you have a neighbor that is lonely and could use a friend to come and visit every so often or a family member who is going through a difficult time   and could use someone to just take a moment to notice.  Do we take the time to pray for those who we have promised to pray for, those who are dying and those who have fallen away from the church? Even if we just added one extra Hail Mary a day for someone who we know who may need it, we will make a great effort in the eyes of God.

Our beloved St. Therese also made a resolution that she wrote about on the eve of the New Year of 1889 at the age of 16, when she was already in Carmel.  She wrote to her sister Celine and wanted her to also take up her resolution for the coming year.

She wrote:  "Celine, if you wish, let us convert souls; this year, we must form many priests who love Jesus!  And who handle Him with the same tenderness with which Mary handled Him in His cradle!"

What a beautiful desire the Saint had for souls!  Let us too follow after her footsteps and use this great opportunity our Lord has given us for a new beginning!!  Let us ask Our Lord what would please Him most for us to start fresh in this New Year!