Pope Francis' 2014

Leave it to Pope Francis to come up with my New Year's Resolutions for me. While not technically a set of resolutions, these 10 things are themes of Francis' preaching since his election, and are as good a place as any to start living the Gospel more fully. So, may I present--my resolutions for 2014:

1. Don't gossip--“Every time we judge our brother in our hearts or worse when we speak badly of them with others, we are murdering Christians,” Francis says. “There is no such thing as innocent slander.”--enough said

2. Finish your meals--this isn't literally about being a member of the Clean Plate Club, but about waste in general and being mindful of those without. To me it means grocery shopping with purpose, not on a whim, so that food won't go bad in the fridge, planning to eat leftovers, using the nonperishables I already have instead of making something else.

3. Make time for others--this one's pretty self-explanatory too. Not being selfish of my time and thinking of others before they ask.

4. Choose the more humble purchase--at last, vindication for my twin bed! I love that the Holy Father is calling attention to this. Yes, it's fun to have the latest stuff, and yes, one could argue that as long as you're still tithing and being generous, who cares how you spend your money. But seriously? Do you NEED the Otter Box, or the 60" TV, or the heated leather seats? What if we lived what the pope calls a “sober and essential lifestyle" and focused our attention instead on Christ and His work? The more stuff you have, the more you worry about it. I'm going to try to translate this attitude into my "splurge" purchases--the fun pair of socks, the grande latte, the craft brew--which, while not expensive, still give me an attitude of entitlement, like "I deserve this."

5. Meet the poor in the flesh--one of my goals for the new year is to find a volunteering project that I can commit to. Welcoming suggestions that would allow for my inconsistent schedule.

6. Stop judging others--way too easy to let this one slip in as righteous indignation or "sharing the truth"

7. Befriend those who disagree--in the past, I've run from these discussions, when someone at work brings up the "stupid" requirements of Catholic marriage preparation, or that cloning is okay "as long as you're not Catholic" or that we should have socialized medicine. Maybe it's time to engage. Yikes!

8. Make commitments, such as marriage--Now, it's not like my goal for 2014 is to run to the altar and say "I do." But I do think it's important to cultivate a culture of commitment instead of convenience. “I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes that you are incapable of responsibility, that you are incapable of true love."

9. Make it a habit to ask the Lord--see--prayer once again makes it into my resolutions. Guess I just get to keep working on this one.

10. Be happy--“Sometimes these melancholy Christians' faces have more in common with pickled peppers than the joy of having a beautiful life. Joy cannot be held at heel: it must be let go. Joy is a pilgrim virtue. It is a gift that walks, walks on the path of life, that walks with Jesus: preaching, proclaiming Jesus, proclaiming joy, lengthens and widens that path.”