A New Year, A New Yes
As you step into the new year, this reflection can be a grace-filled foundation for deeper spiritual focus, discernment, and renewal. You may want to share the experience with a friend or spiritual director, or revisit your reflections a few months into the year.
Remember: God meets you where you are—not where you “should” be. And each new year is another invitation to say “yes” to grace.
“Behold, I am making all things new.” – Revelation 21:5
🌿 Move Forward with Grace and Begin the New Year with God
Let us follow up the Year-End Examen to move forward with focus, intention, and spiritual clarity into the new year. This piece ties together the reflection and gently casts a vision for the year ahead.
After prayerfully looking back on the year, what now?
You’ve taken time to reflect…not just on events and emotions, but on how God has been moving in your life. You’ve named blessings, acknowledged struggles, and listened for where the Spirit might be leading you. That is sacred work.
But spiritual reflection isn’t meant to end in the past. It opens us up to a more attentive, intentional, and grace-filled future. The invitation now is to carry the fruits of your reflection into the new year—not with pressure or perfectionism, but with quiet trust.
1. Begin Again—Gently
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”
—Lamentations 3:22–23
The new year is not a blank slate; it’s a continuation of God’s story in your life. Whatever burdens or hopes you carry, begin again with gentleness. God is not demanding your perfection—He is inviting your yes, one step at a time.
Ask yourself:
- What one word, theme, or grace do I want to carry into this year?
- How might God be asking me to love more deeply—in my daily life, work, prayer, or relationships?
2. Live with Greater Awareness
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
—Psalm 46:10
The Examen has helped you cultivate awareness. Carry that awareness with you. Consider practicing a weekly or daily Examen (even in a few simple minutes) to stay grounded. Let your heart stay open to the movements of God in ordinary moments.
You might reflect weekly on:
- What gave me life this week?
- Where did I feel disconnected from love?
- How did I respond to God’s nudges?
3. Discern the Invitations, Not Just the Resolutions
Rather than resolutions based only on self-improvement, consider asking:
What is God inviting me into this year?
This may be a call to greater rest, deeper prayer, renewed creativity, bolder service, or loving presence in your family or community.
Discernment is not always about answers—it’s about living in relationship with the One who knows you and calls you.
4. Hold It All With Hope
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
—Romans 15:13
Whatever the coming year holds, go forward with hope—not because of what you can do, but because of who God is. He walks with you in every moment, even (and especially) in the unknown.
Let this be a year of:
- Listening more than striving
- Trusting more than controlling
- Abiding more than achieving
A Prayer for the New Year
“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will…”
—St. Ignatius of Loyola, Suscipe
God of all seasons,
Thank You for walking with me through this past year.
Open my heart to Your presence in the year to come.
Give me the grace to follow, to trust, to begin again—
One day at a time, one yes at a time.
Amen.
🌟 Step Forward in Faith
You don’t have to see the whole path to take the next step. May your year be filled with sacred noticing, quiet courage, and deepening love.
Let grace be your rhythm.
Let prayer be your anchor.
Let Christ be your companion.
