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Examining Our New Year’s Resolutions Through the Lens of Stewardship
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very January, we all step forward into the New spiritual resolutions at this special time each year. Year with new ideas, goals and resolutions. But Then, for the new calendar year, we can make after the initial sparkle of the New Year has faded, it resolutions for our health and well-being. In both can be easy to forget our once-fervent resolutions. cases, we can commit to these promises much in the However, we might 4nd that its a bit easier to same keep way we make our commitments during our our New Year’s resolutions if we look a bit beyond annual Stewardship Renewal. We can make these our physical selves. By also involving our spiritual resolutions, write them down, and share them with lives, as well as the lives of someone. Once you’ve written it others, we can add a lot more down and shared it, you are now It all comes down to meaning to our resolutions. holding yourself accountable. Renowned Catholic author We are both physical and one basic point — if Matthew Kelly says, “We’re all spiritual beings. Taking care of we acknowledge that trying to be better versions of the physical side of things is ourselves,” and that’s basically a good start, but if we ignore everything we have is a what any resolution is about. the spiritual side, what kind of Stewardship is essentially the progress are we truly making? gift from God, then we same thing — if we embrace Even if you already regularly are supposed to be good pray,youcanadd4vemore living a stewardship way of life, we become better versions of minutes to your prayer time each stewards of those gifts, ourselves. We can use our time day to take a step forward in and talent to make improvements your faith. Even if you read the use them for the benefit in our lives, in the lives of others, Bible once a week, you can take of others, and return our a spiritual leap and make it twice and in the life of the parish. It all comes down to one basic point — week. One way to make a good talents tenfold to the Lord. aresolution if we acknowledge that everything is to consider joining wehaveisagiftfromGod,then or increasing your involvement we are supposed to be good stewards of those gifts, in one of the parish’s prayer, faith formation or usethemforthebene4tofothers,andreturnour outreach ministries. talents tenfold to the Lord. MakingresolutionsrequiresustotrulyreRe One idea to help incorporate stewardship into on the areas in our lives that we’d like to improve, your New Year’s resolutions is to make two distinct while also ensuring that our priorities are in order. resolutions each year — one at the beginning of Remember, there is no need to take a giant leap all at the liturgical year, and one at the beginning of the once. So, as we begin a new calendar year, remember calendar year. that even the smallest steps forward in faith can go We can think of the 4rst Sunday of Advent as a long, long way as you continuously renew your the Church New Year, and we can make our own relationship with Christ.
