Mercies That Are New Every Morning

Rosemary Bogdan considers how we might look differently at failed New Year’s resolutions. 

As we approach the end of January, many will experience the inevitable regret of failed New Year’s resolutions. As we live in the dark, cold days of winter (in some parts of the country) let’s resist self-deprecating thoughts. Dark thoughts are rarely from God. 

God loves us and knows we are doing our best. Yes, we may have been striving for some improvements, but sometimes life does not cooperate with our well-intentioned plans. 

It’s OK to begin again. Turn again to the Lord and seek His will for us. Maybe we were trying to do too much. Maybe we were focused on a concern that was not God’s idea. He loves us so much. He never wants us to be frustrated. He will help. 

Let’s Start Again! 

We can always start again. In fact, isn’t that what the Christian life is all about? We fall, and we start over. Nowhere is that action so clear as in the confessional.  

May we never forget that God’s mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. 

The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted, 
    his compassion is not spent; 
 They are renewed each morning— 
    great is your faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23) 

Let’s not allow self-deprecating thoughts to distract us from the love and overflowing mercy of God. 

The calendar is not the guideline for when we may choose a different path. God might direct us to resolve to do things differently at any time. He is the one who knows all things and has specific plans for our lives and for each of our days.  

Perhaps we should start each day with a joyful Happy New Day celebration in our hearts. God has blessed us with another new day. Let us always rejoice in another dawn. 

The psalm response for today’s Mass, from Psalm 96, tells us,  

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all you lands. Sing to the Lord; bless his name. 

Indeed, let’s sing in each new day, regardless of how our New Year’s resolutions are going. 

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus. In the first reading, from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy, we learn that we ought to “bear [our] share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God” (2 Timothy 1:8). 

Strength That Is God’s, Not Ours 

Let’s not forget that strength comes from God, not from us.  

We have no strength at all, do we? Remember, without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). We can’t make ourselves holy. We can’t be perfect. We can’t succeed in New Year’s resolutions. 

Let’s fight against discouragement or perhaps even depression. If you are struggling, offer the pain to the Lord perhaps for someone who is suffering. It could be someone who is suffering worse than you are. Let’s not let our suffering go to waste. We can always offer it to the Lord as a prayer for ourselves or for others. 

He loves to pour out his kindness and mercy upon us. They are never exhausted. They are new every morning. 

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Copyright 2026 Rosemary Bogdan
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