Last Up-dated:
Sept 30, 2024
Sept 30, 2024
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January
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January: St. Gemma GalganiHappy New Year! Now, what are you going to do with it? It’s a clean slate, ready for you to do whatever you want. Resolve to make the most of it.What is a New Year's resolution? It’s a tradition in which a person plans to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal, or improve their life.The ancient Babylonians are the first people to make New Year's resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year, although for them the year began not in January but in mid-March, when the crops were planted.
Don’t think you’re alone in wanting to make a plan for the new year. Take a hint from St. Gemma Galgani, an Italian saint, born in 1878. She only lived to be 25, dying of tuberculosis in 1903.
She’s the first saint to live in the 20 th Century. What does a saint resolve to do? On New Year’s eve, as 1895 moved into 1896, she wrote in her diary:
During this new year I resolve to begin a new life. I do not know what will happen to me during this year. But I abandon myself entirely to you, my God. And my aspirations and all my affections will be for You. I feel so weak, dear Jesus, but with Your help I hope and resolve to live a different life, that is, a life closer to You.
You don’t have to do something so lofty, but if a saint can make a resolution, so can you!