Try Reassurance, Rather than Resolutions

Saint John Henry Newman reminds Leigh Ann Roman of the simplicity of serving God.

Many people begin the New Year with resolutions: eat less, exercise more, recommit to prayer. But this year I decided to begin the year with reassurance. 

I found this reassurance in a meditation on vocations by Saint John Henry Newman, the famous British convert and cardinal of the Catholic Church. Or should I say, this reassurance found me? Over just 24 hours at the very end of 2024, I read and heard the meditation twice: once in a podcast by Father Mike Schmitz and another time in the book Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor by Dawn Eden Goldstein. 

God has created me to do Him some definite service: He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission — I never may know it in this life but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for his purposes ... I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. (Saint John Henry Newman, quoted in Father Ed: The Story of Bill W's Spiritual Sponsor by Dawn Eden Goldstein, p. 66)

We all have a vocation  

It is easy to see why those in the religious vocation would find this meditation encouraging. But we must remember that marriage and motherhood are vocations, too, and that this meditation applies to every person in his or her mission and vocation. 

While some may find it anxiety-provoking that the saint says we may never know our specific mission in this life, that doesn’t bother me. That’s because the meditation also says that I shall achieve that mission if I keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. 

This is just the reminder that I needed to start the New Year. To be honest, I am quite goal-oriented, so I do make resolutions. But to know that I will somehow achieve God’s specific purpose in my life simply by following the commandments and seeking to serve God in my daily life is a huge relief in a culture where people measure everything from the number of steps they take daily to the number of books they read annually. I don’t want to fall into the trap of justifying my life by my productivity, which is the measuring stick of our age. 

Viewing life from a higher perspective 

Instead, I need to take a step back from the human point of view to a God’s-eye view. If I am inviting Him into my daily life and seeking His will, I am working my piece of the puzzle. I can trust that His hand is creating the overarching image, which will be beauty itself. Trust and humility are key to this mindset. Humility reminds me that this is not my picture. It’s God’s. And trust tells me that, although I cannot see the big picture, God can. And He has proven himself to be an excellent artist. 

If I begin every day by inviting God into that day and offering Him all my decisions, then I am seeking to do His will. Some days, I will stop during the day to invite Him into a specific situation that causes me concern. But obviously I don’t spend the day as a contemplative because I have a full-time job. The 10 Commandments and the guidance of the Church are the guardrails for my life. They are so ingrained that I don’t have to think about them, and I am grateful for that.  

I’m also grateful for the message of reassurance I received at the end of 2024, which I carry with me into this New Year. Like everyone else in the world, I have a specific role to play, and I can do that successfully if I simply seek to serve God first. 

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Copyright 2025 Leigh Ann Roman
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