So...Have You Made a New Year's Resolution? I Have a Suggestion if You Haven't.

Bad ideas pollute the mind. Read with caution and always under the protection of the Holy Spirit and your guardian angel. These four men made the world worse with their evil philosophies. See if you can identify them. I've listed them at the end of the post.

It's that time of year again when everyone is making resolutions they will likely abandon within a few weeks. Let's think about it.

 When I made my annual Ignatian retreat in July, I made four resolutions:

• Don't defend myself,
• Don't do anything hasty,
• Embrace silence, 
• Be good to my husband. 

Larry was especially appreciative of the last one. 

Anyway, I've been relatively successful at keeping these which I renew often. Only a few significant slips since July, particularly in the "hasty" department. It's hard to slow down a choleric temperament from instant reaction! I've apologized, and renewed that one. So, with regard to 2023, I decided just continue to keep these four...with one exception. 

I've been meaning to listen to the SSPX Crisis in the Church series for quite awhile. I think there are a total of 55 episodes. To watch one each week would pretty much cover 2023. So that's my new year's resolution. Watch one each week, and try to internalize the teaching.

I have found from the preaching, teaching, and catechism classes at the chapel, that the priests of the SSPX are among the most well-formed priests I've ever met. Fr. John Hardon, S.J. was another. To listen to his lectures and take notes was to end up with a perfect formal outline. He introduced his subject telling you what he was going to do. Then he did it. Then he summed up what he taught: clear, well-explained, and easy to understand. The priests of the SSPX remind me of Fr. Hardon.

I'm on episode 2 of Crisis in the Church presented by Fr. Alexander Wiseman explaining the background of the crisis going back centuries to the rise of nominalism in the 1300s and Martin Luther's rebellion two centuries later. (Nominalism denies universal categories; everything is subjective. It was the harbinger of relativism and modernism.)

Fr. Wiseman, who teaches at the seminary in Dillwyn, VA often says Mass and hears confessions at the chapel in Linden. His sermons teach the fullness of the faith and he is a kind and wise confessor. I'm always happy to listen to his teachings and speak to him at coffee after Mass and ask questions. He is well named because he truly is a "wise-man" and a wise priest.

But you can see for yourself if you listen to episode 2 of the Crisis series which I just finished. I'm hooked and look forward to episode 3:

Before I listen, I pray the prayer to the Holy Spirit to retain and be able to share what I learn. Let us pray in 2023 to grow in wisdom and love of truth!

The men in the photo: Michael Foucault, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Jean-Paul Sartre. How many did you get?