New Year's Resolutions

"Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds." Psalm 36:5

No New Year's resolutions here. Sorry. They always fall flat, face down. I can't keep them.

But one thing I can do (with God's help). I can pray that you and I will:

• Grow in a deeper knowledge of the love of God towards us.
• Grow in a deeper understanding of God's honor, glory, power, and grace.
• Grow deeply aware of the fact that we are worms pardoned with life and all good things from Him who chose to save us, not because of anything good within or about us, but because of everything good that flows from His own goodness.
• Cherish more fully God's gift of grace.
• Start every morning asking God to wake us fully (hearts, minds, strengths) in Him - to make us sensitive to His will throughout the day.
• Become more sensitive to what God has appointed, instead of making much of our appointments and efforts about God's things.
• Live in the house that Wisdom built and find therein the truths that keep us free, the peace that surpasses all understanding, and the courage that enables us to love and to give... and to forgive as Christ has.
• Fear more reverently the perfect Love that did not spare its greatest treasure to redeem a sinner's heart. 

"Have no fear of robbers or murderers. They are external dangers, petty dangers. We should fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices the real murderers. The great dangers are within us. Why worry about what threatens our heads or our purses? Let us think instead of what threatens our souls.

Then turning to his sister: My sister, a priest must never take any precaution against a neighbor. What his neighbor does God permits. Let us confine ourselves to prayer when we feel danger looming, pray not for ourselves, but that our brother not fall into crime because of us." ~ Victor Hugo (Les Misérables)

Happy New Year!

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