Mother Knows Best: New Year’s Resolutions for Catholics

By Nick Jones, University of Rhode Island

You know the drill. It’s the New Year, so everyone is posting or talking about their resolutions. Some seem better, or at least more actionable, than others. Regardless of the specifics, they all seem to hover around the idea of self-improvement. No one’s goal is ever to become a worse person. How should we Catholics understand this notion of self-improvement? Contrary to the culturally woke notion of self-love as an end in itself, we are called to love ourselves for God’s sake. To be sure, we ought to be constantly cooperating with God and His actual graces in order to become more like Him. Consider the Parable of the Talents (cf. Matthew 25:14–30). Much is expected of those of us to whom much has been given. The greatest talent, or gift, entrusted to us is that of the Faith. Thus, if we want…