New year, a new goal of sorts

2024 has been so busy.

It was a year marked by incredible milestones. Our youngest son finished eighth grade and started high school. His older brother helped his marching band win a national championship. They both took off their braces and one of them put in contact lenses.

Somewhere in there, I finished a master’s degree and my husband made incredible progress on a project that was a lifelong dream. We had a great beach vacation. My car was totaled in an accident, repaired, then broke down with our entire family inside – and it took almost a month to figure out what was wrong.

2024 has not been an easy year as we have said goodbye to loved ones, including my father-in-law, who passed away in March, and my husband’s brother-in-law, Ned, who passed away just a few weeks before Christmas. I am grateful that we had the gift of being able to say goodbye.

Now 2025 begins. I’m always a little sad to close the book on the past year, but I like the idea of ​​a fresh start. What will this new year bring? What will we bring to this new year?

Word of the year

At the beginning of each year, I randomly choose a word of the year. My word this year is “Kindness”. It seems a bit ordinary, but I like its simplicity. Perhaps it is a call not only to be kind to others, but also to recognize and appreciate kindness and accept the kindness of others.

If you want a word of the year, you can click on this word generator.

Saint of the year

I also like to choose a saint of the year, also at random. This year, my saint is a new one for me: St. Francis de Paula. He was named after Saint Francis of Assisi and founded his own order, the Order of Minims. He spent a lot of time fasting, lived essentially as a vegan, and embraced solitude. I am fascinated by the miracles attributed to him during his life and his connection with animals.

I always like to find quotes from saints to understand them a little better. Saint Francis of Paula said: “Love peace. Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal. You know well that our sins arouse God’s wrath. You must therefore change your life so that God in his mercy forgives you. What we hide from men is known to God.

I’m curious how St. Francis de Paula could be a friend to me this year.

If you want a saint for the year, you can click on that saint’s name generator.

Goal for the year

Last year I set a goal for myself to attend mass 100 times. It was such a wonderful goal – and truly a gift to me. Attending daily Mass gives me that little bit of time in my day where I can just be with God, hand over everything I carry to Him, ask Him to watch over everyone I love, and place intentions and requests before Him special things that people have entrusted to him. Me.

In 2024, I have gone to mass 133 times. I had never counted before, so I didn’t know if 100 would be an achievable number, but I loved the sound of 100. You think that if you go to mass on Sundays and for holy days of obligation, you already approaching 60. So 100 seemed doable – and it was.

This year I’m going to try to go 150 times. I don’t know if I’ll achieve it, but I like achievable and ambitious goals. And while I could try something else, going to Mass is a treat some days and a lifesaver on others. Just for fun, I might keep track of where I go for each one, but that might be more than I can handle.

Whatever your hopes for this year, I hope that the new year is full of many blessings for you and that each day brings you the opportunity to see and appreciate how much God loves you.

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