Here are three New Year’s resolutions grounded in the counsel of St. Ignatius Loyola. 1. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Ignatius said to be, “more ready to put a good interpretation on another’s statement than to condemn it as false” (Spiritual Exercises 22). What I am tempted to do: Correct others when I think they are wrong. After all, perhaps I am pretty sure I know the truth, especially if it is on […]
When I sat down earlier this month to think about my New Year’s resolutions, I wrote three columns: Mind, Body, and Spirit. As I was contemplating my Spirit column, I kept remembering Pope Francis’s frequent admonitions to leave room for the Holy Spirit. While I did want to include this in my list of resolutions, I struggled with how to fit this concept into the column. I’m accustomed to listing specific, concrete, and quantifiable actions […]
What if instead of starting with New Year’s resolutions, we began with New Year’s daydreaming? January is a time when I eagerly peruse the newly arrived seed catalogues for ideas for springtime plantings. Where I live in the Northeast, the ground is cold and it’s still a long ways off to seed planting in spring. Under the huddle of a warm blanket, my imaginary garden is filled with bright dahlias, plentiful peonies, dramatic roses, and […]
My years of being immersed in Ignatian spirituality have taught me the importance of being intentional—to be dedicated to my prayer life, to be dedicated to discernment, and to live purposefully. It is this idea of intentionality that I offer to all couples this new year as we naturally start setting our sights on goals, resolutions, and dreams. Instead of picking the first thing that comes to mind for our New Year’s resolutions, consider a […]
“Now bless thyself: thou met’st with things dying, I with things newborn.” —William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale With every new beginning, we look back over “things dying.” We look forward to “things newborn” and we hear those first three words, ringing out an invitation to us to bless ourselves, and allow ourselves to be blessed. Can we believe that God blesses all that is past? All of the last dying year? The projects, the relationships, […]
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Two common ones involve getting in shape or making a commitment to deepen one’s prayer life. Former catechetical leader Paul Gallagher explains how one led to the other for him in the article “How the Spiritual Exercises Rebooted My Health.” He writes: St. Ignatius reminds us in the Spiritual Exercises that we need to detach ourselves from those things that may have taken on addictive qualities in our lives. […]
A new year usually means a fresh plan. It means another try at the life we want to live. It means opening up to possibilities—to forward movement, to adjusting old ways to work better. A new year reminds us that the Holy Spirit is always moving, working among us, and leading us to the next good step. However, we cannot respond fully to such guidance and holy inspiration until we are free to do so. […]
With the end of each year I typically find myself in a state of hopefulness for the next year. I want to make resolutions like eating healthier, exercising, and praying more. But I also find that my hopefulness comes with a lament about some lack in the past year: I failed to make healthy choices; I was over-stressed with work; I got lazy with prayer and exercise. That lament is coated with a layer of […]
When I was a girl, I was a Girl Scout. Thankfully, we had an active troop leader who took us on all kinds of outdoor excursions, from camping and hiking to ice tobogganing, in all kinds of weather. Recently I thought of a song that we sometimes sang as Scouts, the “Johnny Appleseed Song.” It went: “The Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the […]
If you’re reading this, you lived to see the new year. This is no small matter! Your life makes a difference in the universe, whether or not you embrace your God-given power. May this prayer accompany your initial steps into the future. God of all time, help us enter the New Year quietly, thoughtful of who we are to ourselves and to others, mindful that our steps make an impact and our words carry power. […]
Copyright © 2009-2018 Loyola Press. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the contents of this service without
the express written consent of Loyola Press is expressly prohibited.