2026 Goals

One of the things that I find myself doing on break from school is evaluating how the semester went as a whole. I find it hard to give myself an accurate analysis while I am in the midst of the stress of the busy schedule, so I naturally find myself saying, "Man, I wish I did this," or "Maybe I should try this next time." After reading a bunch of internet posts about a summary of 2025, I think that it is fitting for me to acknowledge some areas that I have grown in but also set some goals for 2026.In 2025, I made many intentional changes to my life; some were self-imposed, while others were required of me in the formation process:

• I picked running back up and ran a marathon.
  • I learned that a noble goal can derail higher goals. If I ever run another marathon, I will need to take it less seriously.
• I started to take singing more seriously.
  • I decided to join a zero credit hour chant schola class.
  • I had to cantor my first ever liturgies, including a whole Mass.
  • I even spontaneously sang with a schola at a Traditional Latin Mass (more on that later).
• I began student teaching.
  • I started with kindergarteners who are adorable.
  • Next semester I will teach 4th grade followed by 7th grade.
• I have increased my resolve to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
  
• I became a Candidate for Holy Orders.
  
• I did cold showers for 90 days.
  • In previous years I deemed this to be impossible.
    
• I attended many more funerals and weddings than what is normal for me.
  
• I began to rely less on journals and pre-written text for my prayer time.
  
• I was able to visit St. Therese, St. John Vianney, and St. Francis de Sales.
  
• I have improved my Latin fluency (still lots of work to do).

In 2026, I don't have too many new goals on my mind, but it is hard to achieve any goal without resolve and motivation, so here are some ideas that I have come up with so far:

• Serve the poor
  • The corporal works of mercy have been lacking in my formation thus far, and I recently received a major financial blessing, so I don't need to work this upcoming summer. I want to minister to the poor in some regular, intentional way this summer.
• Grow in devotion to Scripture
  • It is embarrassing to be this far into formation and not have read the entire Bible. During the spring 2024 semester, I read the whole New Testament. This semester, I am not sure if I can finish the whole Old Testament, but I should at least be able to read half of it. I have the free time to do it; I just need to waste less time on distractions. I will probably make a spreadsheet reading plan since that worked well for my previous New Testament goal.
  • I will also be taking a synoptic Gospels + Acts class, so I will become much more familiar with the Gospels as well, which is always beneficial.
• Take care of my body
  • I just turned 26, so I am now on my own health insurance. I haven't been good about regularly going to the doctor or dentist as of late, so I want to at least take care of that.
  • I thought that I was going to lose weight during the marathon training, but I was wrong. I actually gained a few pounds from the increased appetite that comes with running higher mileage. I want to get back to a more healthy weight and grow a little bit of muscle, nothing crazy. Many studies show that one of the best indicators of long-term health is resistance training. I don't enjoy lifting weights, but I likely won't be able to fully retire as a priest, so good health is important for both my future and the Church's future.
  • I want to train for another race in the late spring, but I can't let the training take over my schedule again like the Columbus Marathon did. Maybe I will try to run a half marathon or a faster 10k. I haven't ever trained specifically for these distances. 
• Grow in singing
  • At the end of 2026, about half of what I will call our "elite" level singers will be graduating from the seminary and entering into full-time ministry as deacons. I know that I don't have a natural gift for music, but some seminarians will have to fill their shoes and try their best. My professor is very happy with my progress, and she thinks I have more potential in me. Nobody has ever complained that their priest is too good at singing, but they have complained that they can't carry a tune... I really don't want to be that guy...
• Get term papers done early
  • I am only in four major classes this semester, so I have a great opportunity to set myself up for success. My history class has a paper that requires essentially no knowledge from lecture, so I can get working on that paper immediately. It will probably turn out a lot better that way too! Maybe that will build momentum for me to get another paper done before the end of April hits.
• Read more books
  • I took a break from personal reading last semester. I have only read about half of the books that I own, so I want to try to knock at least 10 of them out this semester. It is a good way to stay away from my laptop and phone, plus it helps inspire deeper prayer.
• Grow in resolve for the Liturgy of the Hours
  • I am happy with my progress thus far, but by May 2028, I need to be praying the breviary with a completion rate of 100%. I am not there yet, so there is still virtue to be built.
• Thank you cards
  • A couple of my classmates have challenged me to take my thank you cards more seriously. There are many people who are generous to seminarians, so I got a large set of thank you cards and a wax seal kit for Christmas. Some of my priest mentors take thank you cards very seriously, so I want to use them as inspiration to grow in gratitude for those around me. 
• Latin Fluency
  • My Latin pronunciation is getting much better from praying a bit with Latin, but schola is also very helpful. I do need to focus more on my vocabulary so I have a much better idea of what is being said. I have noticed a large improvement in my comprehension when I go to Latin Mass, but I want to be able to read whole sentences and paragraphs and have a pretty good idea of what is being communicated. I have been making digital flashcards over winter break to help with this.
• Writing / Blogging
  • There are some bigger things planned for this blog soon. I am not sure exactly when they will be finished, but what started as me writing to myself online has turned into a place where people come, read, and share. Weebly's platform isn't the most conducive to this, so there will be some changes made
  • I also want to begin posting a bit more regularly. I will need to be in a habit of preaching daily at Mass, so increasing the frequency with which I think and compose these theological reflections will be helpful. 

These are my main goals for the upcoming year / semester. None of them are very unique or exotic, so I will probably come across a few things along the way and try to implement them.

You may notice that I didn't list anything directly related to reducing my use of technology or the internet. I have been battling against myself for years in this regard, but I haven't made a ton of progress. I want to try to just think about my screens less and less. Ironically, I recently got fed up with my screen time, so I started to research tools to help fix the problem. This led me to spending a week being obsessed with this issue when the entire point of a tool is to focus lesson screens. I shouldn't have a mental countdown of when my phone or laptop will unblock itself. I will still keep limits on my devices, but setting specific goals in regard to time doesn't seem like a good idea. It feels a bit like trying to count calories, which leads to an overobsession with food. I have found the best way to avoid snacking and overeating is to just stay busy and keep my mind off of it. I want to implement a similar mindset in regard to technology.

Let me know if there are any obvious things that I have missed! 

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