New Years Resolutions and humble thanksgiving for the past year

Here’s a great rendition of the Te Deum for some humble thanksgiving for all that the Lord has either provided (if it was good) this past year, or permitted (if it was evil, but only so as to bring good out of that evil).

My confessor recommended I make some new year’s resolutions.

I hate new year’s resolutions. However, he’s my confessor, so, O.K. What else can I do? Hear’s my list:

1. Even though it’s really hard to get to confession here in the mountains, especially in dead of winter, to never leave off going to confession for more than two weeks.

2. To offer a plenary indulgence for deceased priests and bishops every single day of this new year.

3. I tend to get distracted when I’m working. For instance, if I’m out with the chain saw, and a tree falls half way, precariously hanging over the path, caught only on one twig of another tree, I tend to keep going until the tree is down all the way, even if that takes heaps of extra time. My resolution is to stop to pray if it is time to pray unless whatever it is absolutely has to be done right now, for instance, if a burning log falls out of the stove and starts burning the hermitage down!