Whether you’re setting resolutions or just looking for a way to take intentional steps on your faith journey, here are a few ideas for how to set the stage for a fruitful new year.

The martyrs always bear witness to the truth in the most convincing way of all, by dying for what they believed and staking their life on the reality of heaven.

As the humanity of Jesus is our path to the Father, remembering the family of Jesus is a fitting way to end and begin a year.

By going to Mass, we encounter God in the flesh through the eucharistic sacrifice, and there is nothing more fitting than the feasts of Christmas and the Mother of God to emphasize the reality of God taking on our flesh.

So rejoice this day. For the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of the wedding feast of the Lamb. And we are guests to both.

The Jubilee of Hope, begun by Pope Francis and continued by Pope Leo XIV, reaches its pinnacle as we make our way through Advent toward the dazzling light of Christmas. It is a sacred moment for us to gather up our fears and anxieties, including those we absorb from the world around us, and entrust them to the Lord of history, the redeemer of the world.

Still shopping? Not sure what you’re making for Christmas dinner—or who’s hosting? I have good news for you, last-minute friends. This is our time to shine.

The fabric of human history is redeemed by the designs of the eternal Word. In Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, the uncreated Son entered into creation.

The more deeply we reflect on the wonder of the Incarnation, the more deeply we understand Christ as “the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared” (Ti 3:4); the mercy of God “richly poured out” upon us.

Seek out what is wholesome and beautiful in your life and rest in it. But at the same time, we cannot forget that the path to holiness is one of sacrifice and discomfort. Much like Tolkien’s Hobbits, we must hold fast to our courage and step out onto the road ahead of us to meet whatever may lie ahead.