A New Year and Growing in Virtue
“God does not see as a mortal who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7.
Another New Year.
Are we still supposed to make a New Year’s resolution?
Does anyone ever keep them anyway?
Perhaps we can approach this new year and our attempts at self-improvement a little differently, and perhaps that difference may actually increase the likelihood of success.
What to Resolve
I have been making resolutions my entire life. Like most people I know, those annual resolutions involved some version of improved health, wealth, or business success. All of those things are temporal and center around what I want or what I think I need to be happier. Isn’t that the truth? Our resolutions are created with the end goal of increased happiness. If I were thinner, richer, or had more clients, then I would be happier, and happiness is the goal, right?
What if we turned all of that around and approached our resolutions through the lens of suffering?
Yes, you read that correctly. What if we selected our resolutions around mortification rather than prestige? Resolving to increase in virtue will involve an increase in our suffering, but the results will be eternal, and we may even find happiness too.
A Life of Virtue
Saints lived lives of virtue; more importantly, they lived lives striving to grow in virtue: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). As we strive to grow in virtue, we are automatically going to need to control a vice. The seven deadly sins demonstrate opposing concepts to the above fruits: pride, envy, sloth, gluttony, lust, anger, and greed (CCC 1866).
When we deny ourselves, we grow in virtue; however, that denial brings suffering, and it is the suffering that will bring true transformation. But most of us do not want to choose suffering. We want to choose to commit to that weight loss plan so we can be beach-ready. We want to choose to make a resolution to increase our client base and generate higher revenue. Neither of these are inherently wrong, but they lack the power that comes through suffering.
Practical Application
We can still desire to improve our health through weight loss, but rather than using the concept of looking good in a bathing suit, we can look to the decrease of lust and gluttony and toward the virtue of temperance. When we remember that we are striving toward holiness by not eating a second helping of dinner instead of trying to resist simply because we want to look better at the beach, the motivation shifts, and we receive the grace to persevere. Man sees the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). God looks to our motivation, our innermost desires. When that desire is to grow in holiness above all other things, He sees that desire and gives us the grace we need to continue.
Of course, each of us desires our businesses to grow in 2026. We would like more clients, greater revenue, and increased impact. Just like the bathing suit example, what is the motivation for these desires? What will get sacrificed to achieve these goals? Do we crave attention (vanity), wealth (greed), or recognition (pride) from achieving these goals? Learning what is motivating us will help us to better see where we need Christ’s help in overcoming vices and growing in virtue.
Consider reflecting on the root sin in your life. We each have certain recurring sins that reveal a spiritual weakness. Prayerfully discerning this root sin will be a good place to start in selecting the virtue to pursue in 2026.
My Choice
I tend to select one virtue at a time on which to focus. If I attempt to overhaul myself, I will undoubtedly crash, most likely from the realization of how often I fall. Fr. Chad Ripperger has a list of virtues with explanations and corresponding vices. This is an extremely helpful tool that goes deeply into each virtue, allowing precision in rooting out sin. For example, there are 16 sub-virtues included in the virtue of temperance. If someone is struggling with that virtue, there are 16 ways to approach it!
My struggle has always been with vanity, the disordered concern over the approval of others, so my focus remains on humility and modesty. The Litany of Humility is an incredible prayer, albeit challenging, that helps me remain concerned with God’s view of me and not others. Whatever you choose, be certain to let the motive behind the choice reveal itself. When our hearts are seeking Him and truly desire to be perfect as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48), His grace is poured out in abundance! Apart from Him we can do no good thing, but with Him all things are possible, even growing in virtue and suffering through the challenges of rooting out vice.
Make 2026 the year that sees an end to resolutions and a beginning of growth in virtue. The temporal rewards are the fruits of the spirit, which lead to happiness, but the eternal rewards are unlike anything we have seen or heard.
Laryn Weaver is a Catholic writer and speaker whose current focus is a ministry of availability and prayer. Her greatest joys are her marriage, her adult children, and her four grandbabies! Find out more about Laryn at larynweaver.com