Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Resolutions

The half-lives of my New Year’s resolutions are generally around five days, so last week I had to face the fact that once again I had failed to do what I’d intended to do (like some daily exercise) and done things I had resolved not to (like eating desert).

I suppose it’s common to fail in one’s New Year’s resolutions. But our failed resolutions can alert us to something more substantial, something St. Paul noticed and wrote about in his letter to the Romans, chapter7. Paul’s experience was that, despite his deepest resolves and best intentions, he did what had been forbidden by the Law and failed to do what had been commanded.

He realized that his resolutions didn’t translate into action and his willpower wasn’t strong enough, despite years of effort at being a strict Pharisee in his observance of the Law. He realized that perfect observance of the Law was impossible, no matter how intense one’s resolve and that, in fact, it was impossible for observance of the Law to make a person right with God.

What kept him from despair was his belief that through the love and sacrifice of Jesus, we are saved despite our moral failures, weaknesses and sins, not as the result of our resolutions and willpower but because of God’s unmerited love and forgiveness.

So our failures in carrying out our resolutions, whether of the New Year’s variety or any other kind, shouldn’t cause us undue concern. For in what is most important — our ultimate salvation — it is God’s faithfulness to his resolve to be merciful to us that is more important than any resolutions of ours.