Checklist for New Year's Resolution

Last year, I made a series of New Year’s Resolutions pertaining to my spiritual life.  They were:

1) Read the appointed readings of each day in the original Greek and in the Latin translation according to St. Jerome.
2) Every morning, with or after the morning prayers, read the Hexapsalmi.
3) Small compline every night. It’s 15 minutes and it shouldn’t be that much of a burden before going to bed.
4) Confession once a month. It’s not a requirement, but I think just a good thing to do.
5) Log in less to the discussion boards. Hardening your heart is so easy every time you need to log in and say someone is wrong.

How did I do?

#1)  I did very well with this for about two months and then, once Lent started, I read the Greek less and less and after Pascha I started to read the English less and less to the point that my reading was sporadic at best.

#2)  Utter failure.  Good for about 2 weeks.

#3)  Utter failure.  I did pray it mainly on Saturday evenings but with a kid, it’s really hard to get into a nightly routine.

#4)  I maybe did confession once a quarter and should have taken greater advantage of it more often.

#5)  I got off one discussion board I regularly participated in but I found myself getting more involved in others usually taking people to task for their misconceptions and outright distortions of the Orthodox faith. 

This year, I plan on making no definitive resolutions with regard to my spiritual life.  I’ll do what I can when I can, but I know that the care of my wife and new son are just as relevant commitments to my spiritual well-being as saying the six psalms, etc.

Happy New Year, everyone!