In yesterday’s post, we discovered that New Year’s resolutions often fade and fizzle early on for two reasons:
1) They are resolutions we determine for ourselves.
2) They are solely dependent upon our own human efforts to be accomplished.
If, on the other hand, our resolutions are prayerfully formulated, guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and if they are rooted in our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, fortified and strengthened by grace, then not only can they be accomplished, they can be life-changing and transforming as well.
The word R-E-S-O-L-V-E-D offers us seven resolutions we might prayerfully consider. Today we will look at the R and the E in this acronym.
Recommit
The new year heralds a new beginning. Feelings of rebirth and renewal excite the spirit and encourage the heart. Much like an expanse of fresh-fallen snow, the footprints of the last year have been erased, and the field of the new year awaits our imprint: the first solitary step which determines our new direction.
What better first step than to recommit ourselves to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of our lives? Through His redemptive act our sins have been forgiven and Heaven’s door has swung open for each of us. How grateful should be our hearts as we contemplate this great mystery of our salvation! And how filled with remorse for all of the ways we have offended God in the past year and in years gone by.
Our act of recommitment, then, should be followed swiftly by true repentance for our sins and a firm purpose of amendment. Thus, that first step is one which immediately puts us in right relationship with God and gives us the redeeming grace we need to enter the new year in the will of the Father. Steeped in the mercy of God we move forward in peace and hope.
Examine
However, each of us knows that our path through the course of the year may not always be direct and straight because of concupiscence. Even as we “firmly resolve with the help of God’s grace to sin no more” we are aware of our own personal frailties and sins – the effects of original sin. Therefore, we should resolve to examine our conscience on a daily basis.
I would like to suggest two examines of conscience that are particularly beneficial. First, each night, we should objectively evaluate our behaviors of the day according to the Ten Commandments, the Eight Beatitudes, and the teachings of the Church. Our question should be, “Given these standards, how well did I reflect the love of God?” This must be done forthrightly and without rationalization. As we see our successes through the day, we should praise God for the grace He gave us to make the right choices. As we see our failures, we need to ask God to forgive us and to help us do better in the future. This general examination of conscience will keep the ways of God in the forefront of our minds.
But each of us has areas of weakness that we know to be particularly difficult for us. Perhaps it is a certain sin we find ourselves committing time and time again. Perhaps it is a way of life to which we have succumbed:
Do I contracept? Am I living with someone out of wedlock?
Do I use pornography? Am I honest in my business dealings?
Do I vote for life? Am I generous with my time, talent, treasure?
Such an examination of conscience is called a particular examine and its special benefit is that it helps us to rid ourselves of habitual sin. Often, we become so accustomed to behaviors, unhealthy desires, and sinful thoughts that we no longer evaluate the devastating effect of the sin.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen states, “Nothing so much cripples the spiritual life as these hidden ‘bugs’ in the motor of our souls, such as self-seeking, immorality, dishonesty and bitterness toward others…Until that is dug out and laid before God, there can be no real progress in the spirit.”
By a particular examine we give ourselves the opportunity to dig out the sin, lay it before God, and begin to grow in a life of grace. I recommend that we sit quietly with the Lord and ask Him to reveal to us that one area of weakness He would have us work on this year. He is sure to show it to us. And when He reveals it, please know that He is giving the grace to overcome it.
