Let’s be honest! Most of us are drifting spiritually. We show up to Mass when we can, pray according to routine, open the Bible occasionally, and then wonder why our faith feels like it’s stuck in neutral. Deep down, we know there’s more. More intimacy with God, richer prayer, a faith that actually transforms our Monday mornings and not just our Sunday hours. But somehow, we settle for maintaining rather than growing, for surviving rather than thriving.
Here’s a radical thought: What if this year could be different? What if you stopped hoping for vague spiritual improvement and actually declared this your spiritual year? Twelve deliberate months of pursuing God with everything you’ve got! Not a grim year of religious duty or impossible perfection. But a serious, joy-filled adventure of chasing after the One your heart was made for.
Sound intimidating? Maybe. But also thrilling. Here’s a roadmap that’s helped countless others make that leap. Mind you! This isn’t about cramming more religious activities into your already crazy life. It’s about reordering everything around what actually matters and watching God do what He does best – transform you from the inside out.
Start Where Grace Flows — The Sacraments
If you want real spiritual renewal, you’ve got to start where God has promised to show up – the sacraments. This is where ordinary things become carriers of extraordinary grace.
Weekly Mass is your baseline, but let’s go deeper. Try this: arrive ten minutes early and actually sit in silence. Stay five minutes after and just say thank you. Stop treating Mass like an obligation to check off, and start seeing it as the weekly summit your whole life should be climbing toward. St John Vianney said, “If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.” This year, let’s chase that kind of understanding.
Monthly Confession — yes, monthly — will revolutionise your spiritual life. Confession isn’t just for emergencies or big sins. It’s for ongoing growth, for learning to see yourself clearly, for keeping the channels of grace wide open. Find a regular confessor who actually knows you, someone who can spot your patterns, celebrate when you’re growing, and lovingly call you out when you’re stuck.
Daily Essentials — Scripture and Silence
Lectio Divina needs to become your daily bread. Not academic study (though that has its place) but contemplative engagement with God’s Word. Pick your approach: maybe work slowly through a Gospel over several months, pray with the daily Mass readings, or dive into something like Isaiah or Romans. Aim for fifteen to thirty minutes daily, not to “get through” verses but to let them get through to you.
Contemplative Prayer is where your heart learns to rest in God beyond all the words and thoughts. Start with just ten minutes a day of sitting in silence. That’s it. Just sit. Acknowledge God’s presence. Notice Him noticing you. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back. Remember Teresa of Ávila’s words: prayer is “an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him whom we know loves us.” This year, strive to cultivate that friendship.
Get Spiritual Direction
Here’s the thing — you absolutely cannot navigate a spiritual year solo. Pride will blind you, discouragement will ambush you, confusion will paralyze you. You need spiritual direction, i.e., monthly meetings with someone wise who can help you spot where God is moving in your life and where you’re resisting Him. A good spiritual director isn’t there to fix your problems or tell you what to do. They help you recognise God’s fingerprints all over your life — celebrating your growth, challenging your comfort zones, and keeping you honest about those patterns you’d rather not face.
Add Supervision
If you’re in any kind of ministry — whether you’re ordained, religious, or a committed lay leader – you need pastoral supervision on top of spiritual direction. This creates space to honestly reflect on your ministry: what fills your tank and what drains it, where you’re flourishing and where you’re barely hanging on, how to maintain boundaries, how to avoid the burnout that’s taken down so many good people. Think of it this way: ministry without supervision is like driving without mirrors. You can’t see what’s sneaking up behind you or lurking in your blind spots. Supervision helps you serve from a full well rather than a dry one, from genuine love rather than the need for validation, from authentic calling rather than compulsion or people-pleasing.
Reset with Recollections Days
At least once a month, give yourself a day of recollection; that is, a half or full day away from the noise for extended prayer, silence, and honest reflection. Maybe it’s a personal retreat at a nearby monastery. Maybe it’s a long, phone-free walk in nature with just you, Scripture, and God. Maybe it’s simply unplugging completely at home for focused prayer time. These monthly pauses interrupt the tyranny of urgent things and create space to hear what the daily noise drowns out. They let you check in honestly: How am I really doing? Where’s God nudging me? What needs to change? What needs to deepen? Without these checkpoints, we sleepwalk through our spiritual lives, mistaking constant motion for actual progress.
Go Deeper with Retreats
Mark Lent and Advent on your calendar right now for guided retreats. Either leave home for a few days or do a structured at-home retreat programme. These seasons already invite us into deeper prayer and self-examination; lean into that deliberately. A Lenten retreat might focus on the Passion, on radical forgiveness, on what needs to die in you so something new can be born. An Advent retreat might explore the art of waiting, the practice of hope, the mystery of God constantly coming to us in new ways. Retreats (the spiritual kind, that is) aren’t luxuries for people with extra time and money. They’re necessities. If Jesus regularly withdrew to pray, as the Gospels testify, how much more do we need that? Budget both time and money for at least one substantial retreat this year. It’s not an expense; it’s investing in the relationship that matters most — the eternal one.
Lighten Your Life with Material Detachment
Jesus was crystal clear: “You cannot serve God and wealth.” So, this year, practice deliberate material detachment. Here’s what that might look like: Each month, give away or sell things you don’t actually need. Set up a giving budget for charitable causes; perhaps ten percent of your income or maybe more. Fast from one material comfort you’ve made a habit (that daily fancy coffee, new clothes every month, your third streaming service) and redirect those resources to people who need them. Pay attention to where your sense of security really rests — in your bank balance or in God? Where does your identity hide — in what you own or in whose you are? In fact, material detachment is actually about freedom. Jesus warned us: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This year, let’s relocate our treasure.
Choose One Big Act of Charity
Spiritual renewal that remains entirely interior becomes self-absorbed. You need to balance all that contemplation with concrete, costly charity. Choose one significant service commitment for the year: maybe volunteering at a food bank, visiting the lonely, helping sponsor a refugee family, adopting a seminarian, supporting a poor child’s education, celebrating your special days in orphanages. Make it actually cost you something — your time, your comfort, your preferences. Make it personal, putting you face-to-face with real people rather than just writing cheques (though definitely do that too). Where will you be Christ’s hands, feet, and voice this year?
Become a Prayer Warrior
Finally, commit to serious intercession for the world. Dedicate ten minutes daily to praying for situations way beyond your immediate circle: Christians facing persecution, refugees fleeing violence, victims of injustice, political leaders making impossible decisions, war-torn regions desperate for peace, the renewal of the Church, the evangelisation of nations. Be specific. Follow the news not just to stay informed but to know how to pray with intelligence and compassion. John of the Cross teaches that “the smallest act of pure love is of more value to the Church than all other works together.” Your hidden prayers for the world matter more than you can possibly imagine.
Declaring a spiritual year takes real courage. You’ll face resistance — from your own comfort-loving self, from circumstances that seem to conspire against you, from genuine spiritual opposition to your growth. Some weeks you’ll fail. Some practices you’ll abandon. Some commitments you’ll break. But the question isn’t whether you’ll stumble. It’s whether you’ll get back up. Whether you’ll dare to believe transformation is actually possible, that God is eager to meet you, that this year could genuinely mark a before-and-after moment in your spiritual journey. Teresa of Ávila puts it so beautifully: “It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves.” So, this year, go deep. Pursue intentionally. Risk wholeheartedly. Dare to declare a spiritual year, and watch God pour out blessings you can’t yet imagine.
So, the big question is this: Are you ready? Then say it out loud, write it down, tell someone who’ll hold you accountable:
“2026 WILL BE MY SPIRITUAL YEAR!”
If you’re feeling that pull toward deeper spiritual growth but unsure where to start, the CACS Sacred Encounter Ministry offers both spiritual direction and pastoral supervision to accompany you on this journey, helping you discern God’s movements in your life, recognise patterns that need attention, and grow in authentic prayer and service. Whether you’re just beginning to explore contemplative prayer or you’re a seasoned minister desiring to be helped by Spirit-guided supervision, Sacred Encounter Ministry creates a safe and sacred space for the transformation God wants to work in you. Click here to learn more or arrange an initial conversation.