By Thomas Mathew
It's the beginning of a new year again.
It's time that we reflect on the way forward. The big question is:
how should we handle our life? A life closer to Jesus is what we
should strive for. When we seek Him, we get the answers for many
things. We also get an idea how to manage our lives. Here are ten new
year resolutions for a life in and with Jesus. These may look very naive initially, but certainly not. Happy new year.
- Start daily prayer: If you're not in the habit of having daily prayers, please start it. Pray one rosary at least on a daily basis. But more the merrier. That's what Jesus has told us. But, like the disciples did when Jesus went to pray, we sleep and waste time. When we pray, we get protection, blessings and grace from our Lord.
- Go to Mass daily: If you have a church in the neighbouring area, please go for Mass every day. Otherwise, make an effort to attend the Mass at least two or three times a week. This practice will bring us closer to God. Not only that, you need to strictly follow and take sacraments prescribed by the church.
- Tithing: Please earmark one-tenth of your income to God every month. It can be in the form of offering in the church, funding church activities and charity work etc. God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7) In Malachi 3:10, God says, “test me in this... will pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
- One confession every month: Priests and theologians say one confession a month is essential for a Christian. This will help in avoiding sinful life, seeking repentance and forgiveness. That too without any compromise on what constitutes a sin.
- Caring for homeless and poor: After all the prayers and tithing, if you ignore the cries of the poor and oppressed around you, it's meaningless. We need to take care of them. There's no doubt about it.
- Become a prayer warrior: Pray for yourself and others. The Ten Commandments are a vital part of the gospel. Our Lord summarised it into two principles – love for the Lord and love for our fellow men. Pray for orphans, sick, homeless, oppressed and against persecution regularly.
- Attend retreats and prayer services: If you can attend a Charismatic renewal retreat once in a year, it will be big booster tor you spiritually. Besides, make it practice to attend the adoration or other services in your church once in a week.
- Join the parish: We need the protection offered by the church. Don't restrict yourself with individual prayers and activities.
- Involve in evangelisation: There're many people who still haven't heard about our Lord.Each person can do a little bit of missionary work on a regular basis. There're several ways: going out and speaking about Jesus, writing about our Lord and even by helping missionaries in their work. In case you're able to bring ten persons to God every month, you will get a reward in heaven.
- Read Bible daily: For your spiritual nourishment, reading one chapter or some paragraphs of Bible daily is essential. The Word of God is life. If you can learn two or three quotations by-heart from Bible every week, it's great. If you can read the books of saints and theologians, it will enrich your spiritual life.
