Happy New Year! By now, you have likely considered a new year’s resolution and maybe even tried a few. If I’m honest, I have a long history of falling headfirst off the new year’s resolution wagon by about January 2nd.
I tend not to follow through on new year’s resolutions because my resolutions are usually completely arbitrary and decided hastily at about 11:00pm on December 31st. Instead of being intentional about what I should do each year, I tend to toss around ideas, both noble and not-so-noble, about what I could do: Keto diet! Volunteer for the PTA. Organize my closet. The list of good ideas goes on and on.
Unfortunately, an arbitrary resolution, even a decision to do something good, is not necessarily the right resolution. So if you haven’t already, I propose that we re-examine our resolutions and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on what we should resolve to do this year. To this end, I’d like to invite you to take a walk with one of my favorite saints today: St. Katharine Drexel. Katharine’s life provides a great guide for discerning resolutions, and really, any decision in your life.
Katharine was born into a wealthy Philadelphia family and had the financial means and influence to do almost anything she wanted. But she did not take action arbitrarily. People around her urged her to do all kinds of good things: get married; use her fortune for philanthropies; become a cloistered nun; or live a single life in service to the poor. However, Katharine’s spiritual director urged her to “festina lente” – make haste slowly. Festina lente – I find these words encouraging in the new year. Take time to choose the good to which God calls you.
Always drawn to serve the poor, in 1887, Katharine attended a private audience with Pope Leo XIII and urged him to send missionary priests to the United States to Native Americans. He responded, “Why not my child, yourself become a missionary?” This interaction helped to lead Katharine to her vocation. But Katharine made haste slowly. It was not until four years later, in 1891, that she became a missionary and founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She subsequently spent her life supporting missions and schools throughout the United States. In all, she and her sisters established 145 missions, 50 schools for African Americans, and 12 schools for Native Americans. Some described her as an “apostle to the poor.”
Katharine took time to discern how God wanted her to live out her vocation. What would have happened if Katharine had jumped at all of the ideas that she could have done, instead of truly discerning what God asked of her?
Meditating on Katharine Drexel clarifies my new year’s resolution, or at least my approach to it. My resolution is a prayer to festina lente – to make haste slowly – to avoid that instinct to accomplish all the things I could do, and instead, listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit that reveal the things I should strive to accomplish.
2022 is still new, and as the adage goes, it takes 21 days to form a habit. St. Katharine Drexel, perfected her vocation of missionary service through over fifty years of active ministry. I’m going to need more than 21 days and a lot more practice to festina lenta. Did you plunge headfirst into an arbitrary resolution or are you still looking for that perfect resolution? If so, perhaps you could make haste slowly with me.
Elizabeth Tomlin is the author of Joyful Momentum: Building and Sustaining Vibrant Women’s Groups and contributing author to the Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers. She is General Counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Elizabeth is an Army wife and mother of three and currently lives in the DC area. She blogs at JoyfulMomentum.org or @elizabethannetomlin on social media.
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Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title
Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 17 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Eleven of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program-an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students.
Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at 
Deacon Dan Schneider is a retired general manager of industrial distributors. He and his wife Vicki have been married for over 50 years. They are the parents of eight children and thirty grandchildren. He has a degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002. He has a passion for working with engaged and married couples and his main ministry has been preparing couples for marriage.
Merridith Frediani loves words and is delighted by good sentences. She also loves Lake Michigan, dahlias, the first sip of hot coffee in the morning, millennials, and playing Sheepshead with her husband and three kids. She writes for Catholic Mom, Diocesan.com, and her local Catholic Herald. Her first book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Adoration is available at Our Sunday Visitor and Amazon. You can learn more at 
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at 
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