Good and Acceptable and Perfect - New Evangelizers

² Do not be conformed to this world^[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Another year is slowly drawing to a close. It has gone by too fast. It is worrisome to me since with every year that passes I get closer to the inevitability of the ending of my earthly existence. I also find that with each passing year, I reflect deeper and much more intently on my relationship with God. It bothers me that as the journey of my life proceeds further to the inevitable end that I reflect more on my relationship with God. I should have been reflecting this way every minute of my life, not only as it slowly approaches its waning years but also in those younger carefree years..

Where once my resolutions reflected such banal things like eating better, doing more exercise, reading more, or watching TV less, now my resolutions reflect much more my relationship with God. Perhaps since I get older, I have much more past to reflect upon and much less time to make things right.

So, with these thoughts in mind, I have decided to share my five New Year’s resolutions which I hope to keep this coming year.

• Gluttony – I have come to the realization that if I cannot control my desires of earthly delights, how can I fight temptation when they arise. In this case, I realize that my body and soul are for God not for me. Rather than focus on ‘how I look’, I will focus on how I can use my body to fight earthly temptations in small matters and be of service to God in greater matters. I think this one will be a difficult one. That is why I chose it.
• Surrendering completely to God – I have slowly been surrendering my life to God. Perhaps I should use the word ‘yielding’ instead. It has, over the years, been slow and measured. In short, I have been slowly building up faith. I now need to take the plunge…fully, without looking back, but rather, forward.
• Silence – Listen more and talk less…..enough said…..
• Truth – When one has time, it is always easy to put things off until tomorrow, using empty saying such as, ” things will work out”. They don’t…at least not on their own. I realize at this later stage in life, that my actions have consequences not only for myself, but for others. Some of these consequences are immediate and some bloom later in life from seeds I planted many years ago. As time starts to become limited, I no longer have the luxury of waiting things out. I need to deal with the truth in the moment. I need to make things right with God, here and now. It is sad that we wait so long to come to such a realization. On the other hand, I thank God that he has given me the grace to realize this even at this later stage of my life. It is gift from God. This one will be painful for me but it ties in nicely with my last resolution…suffering.
• Suffering – I will stop complaining and dedicating my sacrifices to God in the hope that he will open my eyes and my heart and draw me closer to Him through my suffering. I will look at all my suffering as a gift since through suffering I journey closer to God. I have St. Gemma Galgani to thank for this one.

I hope that my younger readers will look at my resolutions as a peek into their future. One cannot avoid this future, but with the blessing and the grace of God, one can surely navigate these waters.

May you have a Blessed New Year.

Copyright 2017, Luciano Corbo

Luciano Corbo

Luciano Corbo holds a Master of Arts - Integrated Studies from Athabasca University. His major interests are Culture, Work, Organizations and Leadership, within a context of Catholic Social Teaching Principles. He writes from Canada.