Feast of St. Basil the Great inspires New Years Resolutions

St. Basil the Great gave up a promising career in teaching to become a monk. He eventually became known as 'the St. Benedict of the East", but, typically, his writings were only appreciated posthumously. Here's a quote of his I had always admired;
“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry;
the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked;
the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot;
the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor;
the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”

This sounds like a good place to name my New Year's Resolutions:
(HT Danielle Bean for naming hers publicly first)
1. Read and pray my Magnificat daily, it has more than just the daily readings, it's meditations often set the tone for my entire day, when I read it.
2. Give away all that extra clutter in the house to the poor, to whom, according to St. Basil, it belongs anyway. My in-laws are coming up from El Salvador at the end of the month, perhaps they need some of it. Surely, I don't!
3. Get back to walks, and pilates, and watching my diet to get into my pre-Mommy clothes still waiting in a box in my closet. It's been 14 years, so this will be a long term resolution.

The one resolution I wouldn't have dared mention last year, that I have accomplished, is to begin writing again. For various reasons, I have held myself back for many years, but thanks to having nearly 300 of you willing to read the two blogs I write daily, and my ever-supportive mother, I am encouraged, and willing to give freelance writing a shot. Thanks for reading this, and being part of what's right with my life these days!