When January 1 rolls around, there's a lot of talk about New Year's resolutions—and I know that there are a lot of thoughts and feelings about them (some good, some bad, I hear you).

I've seen a lot of people try out a dietary change for the first month of the year, others who have done a no-spend month, and some who try to wake up just a little earlier each day to get into a better routine. In any case, it seems like the New Year gives a lot of us a little more motivation to try something that we think will make our lives better. We are desperate for a fresh start.

That's how we can look at next Sunday and next week. It'll be the start of the Liturgical New Year. So it's basically a Catholic New Year's Eve! And what came to mind during today's readings is a similar message to one we're going to hear a lot of during Advent: that we need to prepare.

We need to prepare our hearts and minds for Him—and yes, for the end times—whenever that might be. We can't count on it not happening in our lifetime. We can't take time for granted, thinking that we can live a life more fully on fire for Christ in a few years, but not quite today.

Jesus is going to come to us—we celebrate His first coming at Christmas and prepare for it during Advent, but we also have to keep thinking about His second coming and preparing for that, too. So let's take the time to think of a few Catholic New Year's Resolutions we can do that will help us prepare for that.

[bctt tweet="Jesus is going to come to us. // @praymorenovenas" username="blessedisshe__"]

Will you join us for our free Advent gathering and find inspiration for your liturgical new year? More information on the site.

Annie Deddens is a writer and producer. She runs a prayer ministry with her husband, called Pray More Novenas. She has a heart for the sick & suffering, and she writes about living with greater faith (hope & love, too) in this imperfect world as a Catholic wife. You can find out more about her here.