I can’t believe that it is already 2019! A whole new year! This is the time when most of us reflect on the past year and take the time to write some New Year’s Resolutions. We write things like: “exercise more,” or “don’t watch as much TV,” or “spend less money.” Those are things I’ve written in the past! And while it’s good to exercise more, watch less TV and save our money, we should also be thinking about how we can improve and strengthen our faith lives.
What are some ways this year that we can draw closer to the saints? To Mary? To Jesus? To God?
One way is to pray to our Saint of the Month. Each month, the Unite youth choose a Saint of the Month, and I write up a description of that saint’s life. I create little saint cards for parishioners to take home and leave them under the Youth Board in the Foyer. There are so many saints in the Catholic Church, and we can pray for their intercession for a variety of things such as stress, writing exams, parenting, depression, keeping bees, youth, beards, children, the sick, and so much more.
Another way to deepen our faith is to pray novenas! Some people believe that if they start a novena, it will be a huge commitment, and that they’ll forget and have to start all over. There is a wonderful website called, “Pray More Novenas.” They have novenas for different saints and different issues in our lives. They send you an email each day with that day’s prayer, so you’ll never have to worry about forgetting!
One of my favorite Catholic events to go to in the Archdiocese of Edmonton is Adoremus at St. Joseph’s Basilica. On the second Saturday of the month, from 7:30-9, there is adoration, confession, Gregorian chants, readings from Scripture and benediction. It is a wonderful place to spend time with our Lord in prayer. It is open for everyone, and I highly recommend you attend!
We are so blessed to have all these ways (and more) to deepen our faith. And these are all things that can be done as a family or with friends! It can be hard to keep up our prayer life by ourselves, so I encourage all of you to find ways to pray and deepen your faith with your family and friends! Our mission as Catholic Christians is to get to heaven, and to help others get to heaven. So this year, when you are writing your New Year’s Resolutions, add a couple of things that you can do to strengthen your faith life!
~ Noëlle, Youth Ministry Coordinator
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