Catholic Resolutions 2019

Each year I have made what I call "Catholic Resolutions."  These New Years Resolutions are not centered on losing weight, eating more healthy, or the like.  Rather, these resolutions each year are centered around my spiritual life.  I encourage all of you to make resolutions specifically geared on improving your own Faith life and your own knowledge of the Faith.  Ask yourself:

1. Do I know the Faith that I profess to believe in?  If not, how can I learn more?  For example, CatechismClass.com has an ideal Adult Course just for this purpose.
2. Am I truly living a Catholic life?  Am I learning more prayers?  Am I helping others to learn the Faith and live it out?  Do I regularly receive the Sacraments?
3. Do you struggle with certain sins or addictions?
4. Do you need to make more donations to Catholic organizations or pro-life charities?

This is the time of year to truly set Catholic Resolutions which will have eternal repercussions.

Some General Suggestions of Catholic Resolutions for 2019:

1. Pray the Rosary everyday if you are out of the habit 
2. Pray Lauds (morning prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer).
3. Say a prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory everyday, such as the St Gertrude Prayer
4. Attend Mass one day extra a week in ADDITION to Sunday. And if you have fallen away from Mass, start going weekly again 
5. Make it a habit to go to Confession at least every 2 weeks 
6. Fulfill the First Friday Devotion as well as the First Saturday Devotion
7. If you don't, start wearing the Brown Scapular

I will begin with reviewing my 2018 Resolutions:

2018 Catholic Resolutions

1.   Focus on Morning Prayers Each Day (3 Dominican Prayers, Daily Lauds, the 3 Hail Mary Devotion each morning)
2.   Attend Daily Mass 3X a week
3.   Make time for 15 minutes of spiritual reading/meditation each day preferably in the morning
4.   End the work day with Evening Prayers (e.g. Vespers)
5.   Focus on conquering old habits and practicing a detachment to material things.

2018 Catholic Resolution Results

1. I've made great progress on starting each day off with prayer, especially since I have recently purchased a Baronius Press Divine Office in Latin and English.  I've been incorporating the Dominican Prayers, Daily Lauds/Prime, the 3 Hail Mary Devotion, and others. I don't necessarily say all of them each day but a day rarely passes when I don't start it off with some prayers
2. Up until a job change that I had in the year, I was going to Mass nearly every day.  Alas, I'm not able to do that now but I was able to go usually 2X a week after the job change but it is more difficult now due to the traveling distance. But Mass attendance is one of the activities I enjoy the most in life.  Even on vacation, I will use those days to attend the Traditional Mass at many new places. I try to share those photos often on my Instagram.
3. This goal I've had the most difficult time with.  I have read some good books this year like the biography of Garcia Moreno and I'm still reading others, but it is slow.  I am thankfully usually listening to a traditional sermon on Youtube almost every day.
4. I've thankfully habitualized myself where if I don't pray Vespers things just "don't feel right."  I rarely pray Compline but Vespers is an integral part of my life now and I've become accustomed to saying it after a day of work.
5. Alas, old habits are hard to break. I continue to make progress and practice detachment and these sentiments, which are an integral part of the Ignatian retreat, is at the essence of developing a prayer life. I will continue to work on these.

So, now, here are my 2019 Catholic Resolutions

1. Make the Total Consecration to Mary
2. Complete the First Saturdays Devotion, which I've done previously but I wish to repeat since it is so important in our world today.
3. Conquer addictions and practice detachment to material things, as I mentioned in the previous year's resolutions
4. Maintain my Daily Divine Office routine

I encourage you to make Catholic Resolutions as well! What are yours? Share them below in the comments box.