Change Your Habits, Change Your Faith

Think about your daily habits. Maybe you watch too much television and waste time on the internet or your smartphone. Perhaps you work too much or spend a lot of time shopping to buy things you don’t need.

Many of us have at least one bad time-consuming habit that distracts us from deepening our faith lives. All too often, we find ourselves with limited time for God because of them.

So, what’s sucking up your time and energy lately? I bet deep inside you know these habits, whatever they may be, aren’t doing you any good when it comes to your Catholic faith and relationship with God.

Change your habits, change your faith. It all comes down to denying yourself what you would do for what you should do. There will always be temptation to do something instead of spending time with God and on your faith. It’s about overcoming that temptation, making different decisions, changing up your schedule, and honoring the Lord with your time. In essence, saying "no" to your habit and "yes" to God's invitation for greater devotion and commitment in your faith life.

Start slow. Introduce a new habit or two into your life to deepen your faith. The key is to set a specific goal and frequency (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly) so it becomes a habit. Here are some suggestions:

• Spend a holy hour each month (or week) in Eucharistic Adoration.
• Pray the rosary once a week or daily.
• Pray the examen weekly or daily.
• Dedicate the last half hour of every night to quiet prayer time.
• Read a spiritual book quarterly or monthly, and reflect on what you think God is saying to you.
• Choose a saint of the month to reflect on and learn from.
• Share a faith-related article on social media once a week.
• Volunteer once a month.
• Read the daily readings or pick a random bible verse of the day.
• Give away at least one item you own every month to the needy.
• Make a donation to a charity each quarter (if not more often).

These are just some ideas, several of which can be done with your spouse and family. The important thing is to spend time with the Lord, however He calls you to do so, and make consistent efforts. When you invest more time in your faith, the Lord will grace you in unexpected ways.