Practices to Bring in the New Year

December 29, 2023 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 01 January, New Year, Patron Saint, Rule of Life, Word of the Year Leave a Comment

Embracing the New Year with Faith and Purpose

As we step into the New Calendar Year, I’m reflecting on the beautiful traditions our Catholic faith offers to counter the secular pull and guide our spiritual journey.

The Church’s New Year began with Advent, setting the tone for a season of anticipation and reflection. In addition to this, my family and I have adopted special practices to infuse our lives with purpose throughout the year.

One cherished tradition includes allowing a saint to choose us for the year, becoming a new patron for our personal & family litanies. It’s a unique journey as we learn about the saint, call upon their intercession, and joyously celebrate their feast day.

Choosing a word of the year is another heartfelt process. I delve into spiritual reading and prayer, reflecting on the past year to discern a word that will guide my spiritual growth. I seek the counsel of my husband. This intentional word becomes a source of inspiration throughout the year. Often, I pair it with a related scripture verse — my verse of the year.

But the journey doesn’t end there. We make a commitment to a spiritual plan, a Rule of Life or beyond, designed to combat specific faults and tend to spiritual duties. This commitment is a continuation of what was initiated in Advent and almost always involves obtaining spiritual direction.

As we usher in the New Year, we find solace and inspiration in the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord on Jan. 1, a Holy Day of obligation.

Assisting at Holy Mass is the perfect way to start anything new, offer our gratitude, and make a heartfelt offering to God, seeking His grace for the journey ahead.

May this year be filled with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to our spiritual growth. 🌟

Share your New Year traditions or commitments in the comments. If you tag me in your post/story, I’ll share in my stories.

#catholicnewyearamdg #catholicnewyear #jffsaints #domesticprudence #joyffnewyear #jffruleoflife #ruleoflife

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Word of the Year {2018}

January 1, 2018 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 01 January, New Year, Word of the Year Leave a Comment

Choosing a WORD for the year has been a part of my family’s New Year’s traditions. It ranks right below choosing a saint for the year (or allowing a saint to choose us).

We usually do both selections at the start of the new Liturgical Year or New Year’s Eve. The saint selection is random but choosing my word of the year has always been a process — an examination of the past year. I take time for spiritual reading for this purpose and pray over it with my husband.

Here is one of our family motto’s that was created from this practice.

I was well on my way to finalizing my word but got a providential push from my dear friend. She alerted me to another genius creation by Jennifer Fulwiler, A Word of the Year selector.

I went ahead and selected a word just for fun since I actually had a direction already. Turns out, I found a word that I need and plan to adopt for 2018.

My word for 2018 is…

QUIET

I encourage you to choose a word for the year to remind you of what God is asking of you during this season in your life. Do it on your own or use the Word of the Year Generator created by Jennifer Fulwiler.

“…Think of this new year as a white page given to me by Your Father, on which He will write, day by day, whatever His divine good pleasure has planned. I shall now write at the top of the page, with complete confidence: Domine, fac de me sicut vis, Lord, do with me what you will, and at the bottom I already write my Amen to all the proposals of Your divine will.” ~Taken from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD

Word of the Year ~ 2016

December 31, 2015 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Motto, New Year, Word of the Year Leave a Comment

It’s been almost a full year since I visited you here. My family had a year of rest and healing from an arduous year in 2014. I hope to reflect on that period someday. For now I’ll continue to put one foot in front of the other and pray for the grace to persevere.

I have many goals for myself this year. Many of which will have me return to my old rhythm of living and a handful that will carry me to new places. I trust that He will lead the way.

Last year I made very little movement in any direction. I remained right where He put me and prayerfully reflected on the crosses that He blessed me with in 2014. That meant that I did not adopt a new word for 2015. My moto remained imprinted on my heart.

Be Charitable. love others, especially family, the way He loves you.

Be Useful. serve always.

Be Gentle. have the loving heart, tongue and hand of Mary.

Be Joyful. stay rooted in the true JOY – JESUS. share the JOY with all.

Forget about yourself. die to self, live for God alone.

Pray. speak to God often and cover everything in prayer.

NOW! offer prompt obedience to God’s will for you.

ALL FOR…Jesus through Mary with the intercession of St. Joseph.

I will be adopting a Word of the Year again for 2016. The word was picked to help keep me focused as I reestablish a rhythm in my home. The word is ORDER. May I begin with God and may I end with God!

Motto & Word of the Year ~ 2014

January 8, 2014 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Motto, New Year, Peace, Weekends with Chesterton, Word of the Year 5 Comments

My word of the year is PEACE. I seek the peace that encompasses simplicity, contentment, thanksgiving, appreciation, patience, tranquility of the soul, and conformity to God’s Holy will. I seek peace not as the world gives.

There are many reflections that I will be mediating on this year to help me grow in peace. G.K. Chesterton offers great reflections on contentment.

Content ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased; placidly, perhaps, but still positively pleased. Being contented with bread and cheese ought not to mean not caring what you eat. It ought to mean caring for bread and cheese; handling and enjoying the cubic content of the bread and cheese and adding it to your own…

True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare. The absence of this digestive talent is what makes so cold and incredible the tales of so many people who say they have been “through” things; when it is evident that they have come out on the other side quite unchanged. A man might have gone “through” a plum pudding as a bullet might go through a plum pudding; it depends on the size of the pudding–and the man. But the awful and sacred question is “Has the pudding been through him?” Has he tasted, appreciated, and absorbed the solid pudding, with its three dimensions and its three thousand tastes and smells? Can he offer himself to the eyes of men as one who has cubically conquered and contained a pudding?

In the same way we may ask of those who profess to have passed through trivial or tragic experiences whether they have absorbed the content of them; whether they licked up such living water as there was. It is a pertinent question in connection with many modern problems.

~ G.K. Chesterton (The Contented Man)

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2014 Motto

These words are imprinted on my heart. Perfection is not sought. My goal is only to move closer to Him and do His will.

Printable 2014 Motto

Printable G.K. Chesterton Quote

select fit to sheet

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Word of the Year Posts

2013 – NOW | 2012 – Pray | 2011 – Charity (LOVE)

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Linking up with Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things for Weekends with Chesterton...

Word for the Year & Motto ~ 2013

January 8, 2013 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Motto, New Year, Word of the Year 5 Comments

“…Think of this new year as a white page given to me by Your Father, on which He will write, day by day, whatever His divine good pleasure has planned. I shall now write at the top of the page, with complete confidence: Domine, fac de me sicut vis, Lord, do with me what you will, and at the bottom I already write my Amen to all the proposals of Your divine will.” ~Taken from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD

I resound my sentiments from 2011.

It’s a new year and I desire to be transformed, to live each day as though it were my last. I pray to die to self and become a true slave to Jesus through Mary.

A new year, a new creation in Christ. – Time is a Treasure!

I struggled with finalizing my word for the year. There were three words that kept coming up. All of them were relevant and remain promptings on my heart. Still, I knew that the ultimate prompting was not coming through with two of the words.

I continued to pray and be patient. As always, He came through in a grand way. The word was made known almost instantly after my first prayer request for clarification. It was a test of sorts for me to act promptly – to lay down my doubts and desire for better understanding (another one of my many crosses).

My word for the 2013 is………

Word of the Year ~ 2013

I desire prompt obedience to serve Him – first time, without hesitation. I no longer want to stand in His way from doing great things. I don’t want to put things off because I seek a level of perfection that is unattainable. I don’t want to let my health be an excuse for not living and serving. I don’t want to pass up doing the small things with great love. I don’t want to spend my life in discernment when ultimately I am refusing to walk in faith. I don’t want to put Him on hold while I attend to my flesh and worldly comforts. I don’t want to wait one unnecessary minute and risk that His voice becomes a low echoing in the distance. I don’t want to not be ready to join Him!

The time is NOW! I must follow His will for me in the present moment. I must be willing to put aside my plans for His at any given moment, regardless of the cost. I must not let a day go by with speaking with Him, offering Him an act of thanksgiving, satiating His thirst. I must always be seeking to grow in virtue. I must only offer my FIAT ~ let it be done to me as You will.

Most importantly, I must seek to do all these things in my home with those precious little faces that He has so abundantly blessed me with. I must not set my eyes beyond my four walls and I must embrace His call for me through my vocation as a wife, mama, and homeschooler. (That means I can’t wait for my energy to return, the baby to be born, the baby to stop nursing, better school resources, money, the house to be clean, the blog post to be written,…or any other lame excuses that I have been known to muster up.) The time is NOW!

His grace will be needed for me to move forward but I have no doubts in His abilities. For I am completely nothing without Him and I desire to be nothing else but that which He has ordained me to be. I want only to love Him and serve Him – NOW!

…"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

~2 Corinthians 9:23

I am not moving out of fear. This call to action is made out of LOVE for the One who so dearly loves me despite all my failings. His love is my motivation to offer prompt obedience for His will for me.

May His grace help me to do His will NOW!

I’m not abandoning any of my previous words. In fact, through this practice, they have been imprinted on my heart. Perfection is not sought. My goal is only to move closer to Him and do His will.

St. Guy of Anderlecht, St. Bernard Scammacca, Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel ~ pray for me!

Word of the Year Posts – 2012 – Pray 2011 – Charity (LOVE)

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2013 Motto

This motto has been developing since 2011 and my inspiration from Melody.