CM Interns: Our Students' Spiritual Resolutions for 2015

This month, we asked our Intern team to share with us how prayer will be a part of their busy schedules in the New Year. We've also invited them to share their personal photography with us to compliment their responses. I hope you are as inspired by their responses as I am! Lisa

What is your spiritual resolution for 2015 and how do you hope to enhance your faith life in the New Year?

Rebecca Willen

I’m expecting a number of life changes this year after graduation.  With so many unknown factors, I found myself confused and overwhelmed when the time came to make New Year resolutions.  Finally, I realized that who I am as a person is (or should be) above and beyond my concerns of employment or schedule.  My first priority is to reboot my spiritual life with daily habits that were previously a part of my life, but have become more of a struggle as time went on.  These include spiritual reading, Scripture meditation, the Rosary, morning prayers (my favorites are the Lorica of St. Patrick and the morning offering) and the Legion of Mary prayers.  I’m endeavoring to ramp up my spiritual life, too, so I’m beginning spiritual direction with my college chaplain.  Finally, I want to focus on the practice of the presence of God: doing all my work for Him, through Mary, and remembering to keep close to Christ and Our Lady throughout all the day, no matter where I find myself.  Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!

Artwork by Intern Rebecca Willen

Chloe Batara

My spiritual resolution for 2015 is to place more trust in God with my decisions, both big and small. I would love to grow deeper in discernment this year, and I cannot do that without nurturing my spiritual life and relationship with God. I’ve been mainly inspired by St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Faustina Kowalska. By putting great love into the ordinary tasks of everyday life (St. Thérèse) and trusting in God and His Divine Mercy despite the mistakes (St. Faustina), I hope to recognize the Lord more and His graces to lead me closer to Him. I am planning to supplement this goal with spiritual reading and journaling. Personally, I find it extremely helpful when I journal because I note down pretty much everything. I hope that later in the year I will be able to look through my old posts and find a pattern of where God is leading me towards.

Artwork by Intern Chloe Batara

Quinn Mitchell

My spiritual resolution for this wonderful New Year of 2015 is to be true to who I am – and to be grateful the amazing things and people God has surrounded me with. By spending more time with my family and spending more time in personal prayer with God I can grow closer to my friends and family while also growing closer to God – and closer to knowing who He wants me to become this year and how He wants me to grow. Accepting God’s plan for our lives is hard work, but by allowing Him to guide us we are doing the best possible thing we can on this Earth. By being true to ourselves, discarding all selfish temptation, we can be strong enough to accept God’s will for our lives. This is my goal for this year; to become stronger with the help of His grace, and to love others more profoundly.

Artwork by Intern Quinn Mitchell

Naomi Owens

As I prayed about what my resolution would be this year, the Gospel reading on January 1st spoke to me. Specifically, Luke 2:19—“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” In the midst of every joy and sorrow in Mary’s life, she had the grace to rejoice in those moments, and the purity of heart to continually contemplate them. With my crazy life filled with homework, music lessons, and siblings, it is easy to get distracted by the little annoyances, and completely miss the even smaller (and yet more important) moments God places throughout my day: The moments that remind me I am created for a greater purpose. My resolution (and the way I hope to enhance my faith life!) is to take time to rejoice and treasure every moment, and to learn, through the grace of God, how to contemplate on those times in my heart. The blessed Mother is my guide, and through her patience and love, I hope to have a very blessed and joyful year.

Artwork by Intern Naomi Owens

We wish all of our interns a blessed New Year. Thank you for sharing your gifts and your souls! You are in our prayers!