Ask deacon mike

We begin another year. Thank God we are doing it together as a family, a family founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ to bring glory and praise to God, our Father. Most all of us make a New Year’s resolution or two as the calendar page turns to January. Unfortunately, most of us are not very good at keeping the resolutions we make. I wonder if that is because we are not very good at making resolutions!

According to About.com., here are the top ten resolutions people make every year:

10) Get organized 5) Enjoy life more

9) Help others 4) Quit smoking

8) Learn something new 3) Loose weight

7) Get our of debt 2) Get in shape / exercise

6) Quit drinking 1) Spend more time with family / friends

These are all commendable resolutions. I am sure most of us have resolved to do many of these sometime in our lives. But I would like to suggest we try something different this year. You could say that each of the ten resolutions mentioned above might be part of what I want to suggest. Let’s all resolve to love our selves better in 2011.

Loving ourselves better does not mean we give in to our every desire. Loving ourselves means we see ourselves as God sees us. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandments are to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus also tells us to love one another as He loves us. To love God, therefore, means that we must love each other. But note what Jesus tells us about loving our neighbor: we love them as we love ourselves. To love others, we must first be able to love ourselves.

Sometimes it is difficult for us to love ourselves at face value. Who else knows us better than we know ourselves? We know our dark side. We know our shortcomings and faults. If people knew us as we know ourselves, what would they think? How would we react? To love ourselves is sometimes very difficult. That is why we need to see ourselves as God sees us.

Did you ever stop to think about how god sees you? How does God see us? The Church teaches that we are created in God’s image and likeness. Therefore, if God Who is the essence of love, then God looks at us with love, pure love. God created us to be like Him, which means that we too are created to love and be loved.

Imagine what our lives would be like, what the world would be like, what our relationships would be like if we loved ourselves with an unselfish love such as the love which Jesus loves us. We already know what the world is like when people are self-centered, selfish, prejudice and greedy. The results are poverty, hunger, loneliness and despair. From these vices come mistrust and war.

Let’s give this some thought. What can it hurt? Let’s make a resolution to love ourselves better this year. Let’s open our souls to God’s grace and see ourselves as God sees us.

If you have any questions about the Church, the Sacraments or our faith, just send me a note. You can send it to the rectory office or drop it in the Sunday collection basket. You can also send me an e-mail at deaocnmikefranks@verizon.net. Your identity will be kept confidential.

Happy New Year. I love you all. Deacon Mike