New Church Year Resolutions

The following is a re-post of one I wrote 3 years ago, and I still think the idea of Advent resolutions is a good one since we are beginning a new church/liturgical year.

Advent Resolutions:

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and it marks the beginning of a new Church year. I never have been too keen on New Year's resolutions as the whole new year thing always seemed rather arbitrary to me.

After all, who made January 1 the first day of the new year? Julius Caesar?  Pope Gregory XIII?

Do we really want our year's beginning be a remembrance of a two faced god?

Janus: the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past.

Nope, not me, no way.

Perhaps every day should mark a new beginning, and it should demand new resolutions from us.

Nope, that would be too tough.

The liturgical year begins today, so why not start the year with Advent resolutions?

I can hear it now, "Are you nuts?"

Yes I am.

So this year I resolve to...

Oh God, I hate resolutions, and I hate to write them down. That makes them so permanent.

Alright, I resolve to pray daily.

Today I will pray for peace as our Choral Society will today when they sing Vivaldi's  Gloria which includes "Et in Terra Pax".

Luke 2:14 "Gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis."

There.

Done.

Peace.