Yesterday, Catholics worldwide celebrated the Feast of Christ the King. It is a celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ as King of Heaven and Earth. It is the culmination of all that we learn and witness to through the year, from the coming Advent season to His death on the Cross, from His glorious Resurrection to His Ascension, from the works He inspired in the first disciples to those He continues to inspire in us in the present day.
The Solemnity of Christ as OUR King reminds us that, in this day of division and over-reaching governments, in this day of instant gratification and self-serving, me-first, I-DESERVE-to-be-happy lifestyles, in this day of anything goes and tomorrow has no consequences, the Feast of Christ the King reminds us that we are being watched over by someone greater than ourselves.
Lord Jesus Christ – King of All!
The Feast of Christ the King also marks the end of the church year, making today a day for new beginnings.
The new secular year, January 1st, is welcomed in with big parties and family celebrations, with fireworks and football games, and always somewhere, resolutions are made.
Aunt May wants to lose weight.
John is going to spend more time with his family.
Uncle Joe is going to quit smoking.
Jenny is going to exercise more.
Abbi is going to study harder and bring her grades up.
The list goes on and on…
But soon, the parties are over. The family celebrations have left warm feelings and happy memories that far outweigh stacks of dirty dishes and the red wine stain on the new carpet. The fireworks have turned to ash and drifted away, and the final football score is known by only a few diehard fans.
And very quickly those New Year Resolutions also dissolve leaving even less of a trace than the fireworks.
According to Forbes only 8% of people achieve their New Year resolutions, and the reasons given are somehow both many and common.
Is There More to It?
But maybe instead of looking at the reasons the resolutions fail, maybe we should look at what the resolutions are. Most New Year resolutions revolve around ME. They are about ME.
Not that that is all a bad thing at all! Some of those resolutions are important, lofty, and very needed.
Who could argue against resolving to quit smoking, spending time with family, getting better grades, or any number of things?
But those resolutions all revolve around ME. What can I do to make MY life better for ME and for those I have to face every day?
And 92% of people fail in that resolve, many blaming a lack of will power, but let’s look at the resolutions themselves as a reason the resolutions fail. What if instead of those ME goals, you set a goal to grow stronger in your faith and wrote down ways you could achieve that?
Perhaps this year, instead of waiting for New Year’s to make (and break) resolutions, you could make today, as the saying goes, “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.” Why not begin thinking and writing down some simple, concrete, attainable goals you can achieve in building a better spiritual relationship with your King, Christ the King?
New Liturgical Year Resolution Ideas:
- Start the day with one minute of prayer before even getting out of bed.
- Read the Bible for 15 minutes every morning before starting my day.
- Pray for your friends and followers while checking social media.
- Download Laudate app and say the Rosary on the way to work.
- Start a Bible study or prayer reflection journal.
- Send a card to a friend once a week.
- Volunteer in the local soup kitchen once a month.
Think about it. There are so many things you can do now to bring you and your family closer to the Lord, to help build His peace, and to make the world a better place.
The best thing about resolving to live more for Christ is that it’s a resolution that never ends. It may have a beginning, but living for Christ never has an ending. It’s not a goal like, “lose 20 pounds,” that you check off next year’s list and say, “Yep, done with that one.”
When you resolve to strengthen your faith, you know it is a lifelong resolution. You know that whatever you do will not be enough, but you can also know that when you ask the Lord to help strengthen your faith, your faith is always strengthened.
You cannot fail when you ask repeatedly.
It is a resolve that is both unachievable and also impossible to fail.
Jesus Loves you too much to let you fail in faith when you seek it. There may be bumps in the road, but He may be using those bumps to test and prepare you for what lies ahead. Those bumps may be setbacks, but they are not failures. You don’t just quit on this resolution once you make it.
The resolution of strengthening your faith is a burden borne, not by your weak shoulders, but by the man who carried the Cross, the man who bore the sins of the world, the man who is Christ the King!
Surely, He can help you keep a resolution to grow closer to Him.
Don’t wait for New Year’s Day to make your resolutions.
Make those that matter most for eternity, today! Give your family something beyond even the great gift of quitting smoking or more exercise. Give them something that will shape them for generations.
Give them the resolve to strengthen your faith.
Yesterday was the Feast of Christ the King. Use today to strengthen your faith by making the resolutions that really matter.
What can you do to strengthen your faith? What specific goals can you Hope to achieve this year with your King’s help?
For more on the Feast of Christ the King, please go to Catholic Online
God Bless…
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