However, fewer and fewer people are engaging in this age-old custom. Perhaps most feel the effort is useless. How many resolutions have we made throughout our lives only to find we break them within the first few weeks of their institution? Indeed, Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that “Resolutions, like the good, die young.”

Why are resolutions so short-lived?

Could it be that unless our determinations are rooted in a belief greater than our own longings and desires they fizzle and fade as quickly as the fireworks on New Year's Eve? Our own human effort is no match for the stuggle, fatigue and complacency which the daily grind presents.

Indeed, more often than not, when nothing greater than ourselves calls us to a higher ground we are content to remain in the valley -- or return to the valley after a feeble attempt to climb the height.

But, if our resolutions are rooted in a belief that calls us to a greater degree of perfection, then we may be more resolved to see them through.

For those of us who are Christian, our commitments should not only be rooted in a belief, they should be rooted in a person: the person of Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Through Him, with Him, and in Him, our resolutions can be the molders and shapers of our lives. Lives that reflect the majesty of the Father, the goodness of the Son, and the love of the Holy Spirit.

To quote Archbishop Sheen again: “Before conversion, it was behavior which to a large extent determined belief; after conversion, it is belief which determines behavior.”

To this end, I offer you seven resolutions. Not only can they keep us on track in this coming year, but they have the power to move us forward on our spiritual journey.

These resolutions come neatly packaged in an acronym based on the word

R-E-S-O-L-V-E-D.

Throughout the course of this week, we will unpack it, two letters and two resolutions at a time, to discover how New Year's resolutions rooted in Christ can be the key to healing, hope, and new life.

Tomorrow -- the R and the E.