The Ultimate Guide to Faith-Filled Catholic Habits That Reshape Your Life
The New Year brings a surge of hope, motivation, and reflection. Many people resolve to eat better, work harder, or become more disciplined. But as Catholics, our deepest renewal must begin with the soul and making Catholic New Year’s resolutions is key.
They are not about self-improvement alone. They are about conversion, cooperation with grace, and growing in intimacy with God through faith-filled habits practiced consistently.
This guide will walk you through the most powerful Catholic habits for spiritual growth, from well-known devotions like daily Mass and the Rosary to small hidden practices that quietly shape a holy life.
Whether you are new to the faith or seeking renewal, these Catholic spiritual habits will help you begin the year rooted in Christ.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
~Galatians 5:22-23
What Makes Catholic New Year’s Resolutions Different?
Unlike secular resolutions, Catholic New Year’s resolutions are not focused on control or perfection. They are about surrender, trust, and faithfulness.
The Church teaches that holiness is formed in ordinary, repeated acts done with love. Spiritual growth does not come from dramatic promises but from daily cooperation with God’s grace.
This is why Catholic habits matter more than vague goals. Habits shape the heart over time.
As Christians we are called to more and called to a higher way of living. Self-discipline, self-control, self-denial, patience, consistency/faithfulness and ultimately holiness; which is all found in seeking God’s will daily.
That is what Catholic New Year’s resolutions are all about and that’s what we’ll be looking at in this guide.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
~2 Timothy 1:7
1. Daily Mass
The Foundation of Catholic Spiritual Life
Daily Mass is one of the most transformative Catholic habits. The Eucharist is not simply a devotion, it is Jesus Himself, truly present.
When you read John 6:53-56 you see Jesus’ own words are that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life in us. Genesis 9:4 says the life is in the blood. In John 10:10 Jesus says that He has come that we might have life and have it in abundance.
In the Our Father, the prayer Jesus taught us, we pray, “give us the day, our DAILY bread”.
Therefore, making the Catholic new year’s resolution of going to daily mass to receive Jesus truly present soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine, should definitely be on your list and can’t be left off this guide.
Attending daily Mass, even once more than Sunday, or three times a week, allows your entire life to be centered on Christ’s sacrifice. It is life-changing.
I’ve been going for daily mass for about two years and it has been so amazing in ways I can’t exhaust in a single blog post!
Spiritual fruits of daily Mass include:
- Deeper intimacy with Jesus
- Strength against temptation
- Growth in humility and obedience
- Increased peace and clarity
If daily attendance feels overwhelming, because of a busy schedule or you don’t have close-by parishes with consistent or convenient mass times, begin with one weekday Mass. Many Catholics find that once they start, they desire it more and more. Just start, lean into Grace and let Him do the rest.
2. Daily Scripture Reading
Learning to Hear God’s Voice
Daily Scripture reading is essential for Catholic spiritual growth. God speaks through His Word, and regular exposure forms the Christian mind. This is another very meaningful Catholic New Year’s Resolution.
You do not need an advanced study plan. Start small and remain faithful. When I started reading my bible daily, I started with the Gospels because I felt like I wanted to know Jesus better.
So many times I heard people say, “Jesus loves you, God is love,” but I didn’t really understand what that meant. I didn’t really know anything about Jesus except what I had heard at mass or been told.
So I wanted to learn about Him for myself. And so, I started with the gospels, then read the whole of the New Testament, then went back to the Old Testament to “fill in the blanks” sort of.
In 2022 my goal was to read the whole bible for myself. I don’t regret it at all! There’s this confidence and deeper trust and assurance that comes from knowing and being able to recall from memory things Jesus has done or said and what Our God is capable of.
It’s so lovely to be able to biblically defend our catholic faith and I really encourage you to read the bible this year.
Simple ways to build this spiritual habit:
- Read the daily Mass readings
- Meditate on one Psalm each day
- Follow a Catholic Bible reading plan (Try the Bible In A Year Podcast with Fr Mike Schmitz!)
You can start small so as to not be overwhelmed. Five attentive minutes daily is enough to change your spiritual life over time. Truth be told, once you start with five minutes, it gets to a point where it flies by and you desire to read for hours.
“The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.”
~ Matthew 26:41
3. Praying the Rosary Daily
A Christ-Centered Prayer With Mary
The Rosary is a Christ-centered prayer prayed with Mary, not to her. Each mystery leads us deeper into the life of Jesus.
Mary always points to Christ and aligns us with the Father’s will (John 2:5; Matthew 17:5). Honoring her should never cause fear, because God honored her first, and Jesus fulfills the commandment to honor His mother (Exodus 20:12; Luke 2:51).
If praying a full Rosary daily feels difficult, begin with one decade. Faithfulness matters more than length.
Do not be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much, you can never love her more than Jesus did.
~St Maximilian Kolbe
Spiritual benefits of the Rosary include:
- Growth in virtue
- Protection against sin
- Greater trust in God’s will
- Deeper meditation on Christ’s life
Praying the rosary daily is such a great Catholic new year’s resolution because the rosary really is our weapon against sin. Mother Mary is the woman that crushes the head of the serpent.
I’ve found that consistent prayer of the holy rosary has helped me combat sins like lust and greed, and grown me in purity, discipline and patience.
4. Spiritual Reading
Feeding the Soul With Truth
Another really good Catholic New Year’s Resolution to adopt is spiritual reading. Spiritual reading supports Holy Scripture by forming the mind in Catholic Christian truth. This habit is especially helpful when prayer feels dry.
I like reading lives of the saints, preferably autobiographies like St Augustine’s Confessions, and St Therese Liseux’s Story of the Soul, and The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur (a Servant of God whose diary converted her Atheist husband into a Catholic priest) is also really really good!
Something so remarkable about these particular books I mentioned above is that they are written by real-life people, members of the body of Christ, that we are still connected to by the power of God, who is God of the living and not the dead (Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:27, Luke 20:38).
These are people that we are connected to because we share the same faith. I remember how in awe I was reading about how St Therese read “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A Kempis, the same book I have in my wardrobe shelf!
And even though the same is true for the holy bible itself, which is our story of salvation and the history of our lives, the autobiography of the saints is about Christians who lived in more recent history.
Recommended Catholic spiritual reading includes:
- Lives of the saints
- Autobiographies of saints and servants of God
- Books on Theology (including some protestant gems if you have the discernment to recognise the deeper truths and keep out the catholic prejudices)
- Devotionals (like 33-Days to Draw Near to Christ)
- Writings of Church Doctors
- Papal encyclicals
Even ten pages a day can deeply shape your interior life. And a tip a priest friend gave of dividing the number of pages between the number of days you plan to finish reading in, is definitely worth the try!
5. Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Hour
Learning to Be With God
Spending time in Eucharistic Adoration teaches the soul how to rest in God.
A Holy Hour does not require constant prayer or words. Simply being present before Jesus is enough.
“Be still and know that I am God…”
~ Psalm 46:10
Jesus tells us that when we abide in Him, He will abide in us and whatever we ask of Him will be granted (John 15:7).
What this means is that, when we draw close to God, and we learn from Him how to be like Him, and how to love as He loves and do what He does, our minds are renewed, our wills are conformed to His Divine Will such that what we ask for is aligned with what God desires for us (Read Romans 12:2).
If weekly Adoration is not possible, commit to one Holy Hour per month. Many Catholics discover that Adoration becomes the place where God heals, instructs, and strengthens them.
It is definitely another powerhouse of a Catholic spiritual habit to be added to the list of Catholic New Year’s Resolutions for this year.
6. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
Sanctifying Time Itself
The Liturgy of the Hours unites lay Catholics with the universal prayer of the Church and including it in your prayer routine is an amazing Catholic New Year’s Resolution to make for spiritual growth.
This prayer rhythm sanctifies morning, evening, and night, reminding us that every moment belongs to God.
This is something I was first introduced to in secondary school when I would get dropped off at school so early that the school chaplain invited me to pray it with her and the headteacher in the chapel every morning before assembly. Others had breakfast club, I had morning liturgy of the hours prayer!
I fell off when I changed schools but in 2024 my sister and I started doing it together first thing in the morning and I have been doing it on and off since then.
I still haven’t kept to every one of the hours in a day but I do always love when I incorporate it into my routine.
Begin simply with:
- Morning Prayer,
- Night Prayer, or
- One Psalm prayed attentively
What’s really great about this habit is that it structures life around God rather than squeezing God into spare moments. As such, it’s a way to give God our best rather than giving Him scraps of the time He made for us. It’s a lovely way to prioritize holy time blocks of prayer!
7. Catholic Music and Worship
Turning Daily Life Into Prayer
Music quietly shapes the heart. Listening to Catholic or Christian worship music can turn ordinary activities into prayer.
Play worship music while:
- Driving
- Cooking
- Cleaning
- Getting ready in the morning
- Working out
This habit keeps the soul lifted toward God throughout the day and is a powerful yet somewhat challenging Catholic New Year’s Resolution to make.
In 2022/2023, I transitioned into listening mostly to Christian music because I really disliked the subliminal messages and vulgarity in a lot of “hit” music. Sometimes when singing back and really dwelling on the lyrics I would realise it’s just profanity to a catchy beat.
Thank God I found the opposite! Madison Ryan Ward has been my top artist on Spotify almost every year since! Listening to scripture sung to pop beats and RnB is one of my favorite things. Christian music comes in ALL genres now, it’s so good and not all the “generic”, “cringey” stuff I used to think it was.
“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”
~ Romans 10:17
8. Monthly Recollections and Retreats
Intentional Spiritual Reset
Monthly recollections allow us as Catholics to pause, reflect, and realign with God’s will.
Jesus invites us in scripture to “Come away and rest awhile…” (Mark 6:31) and even Jesus withdrew from the crowds to spend some quiet time with just him and God the Father (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16).
Additionally, the third commandment is to keep the sabbath day of rest holy. So spiritual rest and reset is very important.
Including this as one of your Catholic New Year’s Resolutions is really good for spiritual growth because it gives you the opportunity to fill a day or weekend with the majority of, if not all, the spiritual practices mentioned in this guide so far.
A recollection can typically include:
- Silence
- Journaling with Scripture
- Adoration
- Spiritual reading
Doing this every other week, or once a month (mine is a women’s retreat every third Sunday with Opus Dei), at the very least a single annual retreat to provide deeper renewal and vocational clarity.
9. Morning Thanksgiving to Jesus
Beginning Each Day With Gratitude
One of the smallest but most powerful Catholic habits is thanking Jesus immediately upon waking.
Before touching your phone, say:
“Jesus, thank You for this new day. I give it to You.”
This simple act places the entire day into God’s hands.
Alternatively, it could be a Morning Offering prayer.
Thanksgiving in all circumstances is the will of God for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and gratitude combats complaints.
Complaints tend to blind us to blessing so starting each morning with a simple ‘thank you’ to God is a very beneficial Catholic New Year’s resolution to make.
In particular, you could try praying the Thank you, Jesus rosary of 1000 thank you’s to Jesus. This prayer is so beautiful and it was revealed that giving Jesus’s thanks heals his heart, wounded from all the ingratitude it suffers from people who reject his love.
10. Praying the Angelus
Remembering the Incarnation Daily
The Angelus is a traditional Catholic prayer that centers the day on the mystery of the Incarnation. It is definitely worth a spot in your Catholic New Year’s Resolutions.
If praying it three times daily feels difficult, choose one consistent time. Noon is a popular option.
There’s something about making a habit of reminding yourself of Christ’s presence all through the day that is very life-changing.
11. Praying for Others Immediately
Living a Life of Intercession
When someone crosses your mind, pause and pray for them immediately.
This habit:
- Builds charity (love of neighbour)
- Trains sensitivity to the Holy Spirit (increases discernment)
- Turns thoughts into prayer (constant communication with God)
It requires no extra time and bears great spiritual fruit.
How to Choose the Right Catholic Habits for the New Year
Do NOT attempt everything at once, please! We aren’t looking to burn out! Choose two or three Catholic habits that fit your current season of life.
Ask yourself:
- What will help me encounter Jesus daily?
- What habit can I sustain consistently?
- Where is God inviting me to grow?
Consistency is more important than intensity. Something God put on my heart last year was being faithful in things, slowly, and steadily following His lead and letting practice make perfect in Him as He works on and in me.
Why Small Catholic Habits Change Everything
Holiness is formed quietly. Small acts done daily reshape desires, thoughts, and priorities.
Catholic New Year’s resolutions are not about pressure or guilt. They are about making space for God’s grace in a world that wants to keep us busy and preoccupied with trivial things.
Begin again. Trust God. Walk faithfully into the New Year with Him.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good Catholic New Year’s resolutions?
Daily Mass, Scripture reading, the Rosary, Adoration, spiritual reading, and consistent prayer habits are excellent Catholic New Year’s resolutions.
How can Catholics grow spiritually in the New Year?
By forming daily faith-filled habits rooted in prayer, the sacraments, and Scripture.
Do Catholic resolutions need to be intense?
No. Small, consistent habits practiced faithfully are more effective than intense but short-lived commitments.
Start the New Year With a Daily Walk With Christ
Spiritual growth does not happen overnight. It happens through small, faithful acts repeated daily with love.
If you want guidance, structure, and space to reflect as you build these Catholic habits, the 33-Day Catholic Devotional and Prayer Journal was created for this exact purpose.
Each day includes:
- A Scripture verse to ground your prayer
- A thoughtful reflection rooted in Catholic teaching
- A guided prayer to help you speak honestly with God
- One simple act of faith to live out that day
This devotional is designed to be used slowly, with your morning tea or coffee, during quiet prayer time, or in Eucharistic Adoration. It is not about rushing, it is about walking closely with Christ one day at a time.
👉 You can learn more about the devotional and begin your 33-day journey here!
Let’s Walk This Journey Together
Which Catholic habit are you choosing to focus on this New Year?
Is it daily Scripture reading, the Rosary, attending Mass more often, or simply beginning each day with gratitude to Jesus?
Share your intention in the comments below. Writing it down is a powerful act of commitment, and your comment may encourage someone else who is beginning again.
Let us pray for one another as we grow in faith this year.
