As part of a special new year’s series for the Catholic Standard newspaper and website of the Archdiocese of Washington on “Seeing 2020 with eyes of faith,” Catholics from across the archdiocese representing different ages and backgrounds were asked, “How will you deepen your faith and draw closer to Jesus in the new year?”

The following are comments offered from the perspective of families. 

 “I will deepen my faith in the new year by renewing my commitment to serve the Lord, by having an intentional prayer life which will bring me closer to Jesus and by continue to participate  in a fully sacramental life that will help me with my own conversion, allowing me  to announce the good news of the Gospel to everyone.” – Carla Ferrando-Bowling, director of Office for Family Life, Archdiocese of Washington

“We intend to include a few more minutes of quiet time each day to open our hearts and minds to listen to God as part of our family prayer time.  This will include time at Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We will also try to engage each week in meaningful and introspective conversations with friends or family members about how God is present in our lives.  Lastly, we will add some more time to devote to our respective ministries, the Knights of Columbus and Ladies of Charity.” – Donnie and Laura Schuessler, members of St. Anthony Parish, North Beach. Donnie  Schuessler is a pilot with the Department of Energy Remote Sensing Laboratory at Joint Base Andrews, and Laura Schuessler is a captain in the U.S. Navy and a program manager at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

“One of the ways to deepen our faith and to approach Jesus not only for the new year but every day, is to have Him as a model of life following in his footsteps, helping the most needy and strengthening our family prayer.  When we let God be the center of our lives, incredible things happen and everything is possible.” – Alex Lopez and Catalina Chavarriaga