A Place for God in 2026
The year 2025 is almost over. It is a time when many review the events they experienced in the last twelve months.
We begin the new year 2026 in less than 48 hours. As one-year ends, people look forward to the new year with hope for better things to come.
The new year is seen by many as a time for new beginnings, a time to start better habits. As a step towards these, they make new year’s resolutions. Normally, the most common new year’s resolutions are to lose weight, exercise more, and eat healthier. These are all good things to do.
People also make resolutions concerning money. This year surveys report that the common financial resolution is to save more money. On a surface level, saving more money can be a good thing to do. I ask what are you saving the money for?
What you do not generally hear as a top new year’s resolution is a resolution to make God a greater priority in your life. I think God is what a lot of people are looking for. They just don’t know it. They know they aren’t happy. They know something is missing. They just don’t realize that it is God they are missing or not giving full attention to.
Does this mean we should get rid of all the above resolutions. I don’t think that is necessary. What we should do is reorient these resolutions with God in mind.
For instance, losing weight, exercising more, and eating healthier can be reoriented under a resolution to understand our bodies as a gift from God. As a gift from God, we should take good care of our bodies. Our relationship with God should be part of determining what it means to take good care of our bodies. Are we using our bodies in a way that is pleasing to God? Developing good exercise and eating habits can help us learn to disciple our bodies and our eating. This is a good thing.
Saving money? Does God care about money? Money itself is neither good or bad. As Paul writes that it is the love of money that is the root of all evils (see 1 Timothy 6:10). Why does a person seek to save more money? I think of the parable Jesus tells us in Luke 12:1-21. Every farmer has barns and/or silos where they store from the harvest what is needed for the coming year. This is a good thing to do and it is necessary. In this parable, the man enjoys “a bountiful harvest” and tears down his barns to build bigger ones to keep it all for himself. What good did that do him?
We can think about resolutions towards general self-improvement. How do we become the best versions of ourselves? The answer to that is simple! Follow Jesus! He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).
If we are interested in self-improvement, we need to examine our conscience in order to recognize our sins. Only then can we begin to work on eliminating our sins and identify concreate steps to take (under God’s direction).
Ask yourself if God is what is most important to you. If God isn’t your top priority, what is? How do you change that? Sometimes a good thing to do isn’t just to think about what we do but why we do it? Are your motives selfish or rooted in love of God and love of your neighbor?
A common excuse for not giving more time to God is “I’m too busy.” What are you too busy doing? Why is it more important to you than God? What steps could you take to begin changing your priorities towards God? Do you really have no time to pray? If you don’t have any time to pray, I think you need to pray all the more to reflect on what is going on in your life and for strength.
How about a resolution to make (more) time for Jesus? If you don’t attend Mass every week, I would suggest starting with a resolution to do this. After all, the Third Commandment is to “Keep the Sabbath Holy” (see Exodus 20:8-11).
If you say don’t have time to pray, I ask you how you to get to work, school, or any other place you go. Could that time be given to God in prayer?
Do you find it hard to pray because of distractions? Do you have space at home that you could dedicate as prayer space (see my article, “Where Do You Go to Find God?”)? Is your local church open during the day at a time when you could stop and pray there?
As I look back on the year of 2025 and reflect on what disappointed me, I think of the tragedy of New York State being on the verge of the governor signing the bill to legalize assisted suicide (see my blog articles in the category “Pro-Life: End of Life”). I see a great disrespect for life. I want to do more to stand up for life. Now, if you know how much I do write for life or participate in prayer/actions for life, you might say I do enough. When I say I want to do more, it isn’t necessarily a question of more in measurable quantity. I’m not sure what it does mean for me except to make sure I take advantage of every opportunity to stand up for life, never giving into an attitude of “why bother.” For you it might be as simple as if you hear someone say they support abortion or assisted suicide, please take the time to respond by at least saying that you do not support them and that you are in fact against them. Our silence about what God teaches can be the devil’s greatest weapon.
When I think about what has been going on in 2025, I also think of the partisanship, polarization, and cancel culture. None of these were new in 2025 but each year it seems to get worse and worse. We need to make sure we do not participate in them. With that in mind, I am going to end now with these words from last Sunday’s second reading,
“Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful” (from Colossian 3:12-21).
Peace,
Fr. Jeff