Sr. Margaret Hickey,ND Reflects on the New Year

As we begin 2024, it is almost impossible not to reflect on all that has happened in 2023. As we assess our lives and the year that was, we often discover what worked or is working, what is not, and what maybe needs improvement. As an alternative to New Year’s Resolutions, we asked the Notre Dame Sisters to pick an area of their life where they would like to feel or do better and answer one, two, or all three simple questions: What do you want to start? What do you want to stop? What do you want to continue?

Sr. Margaret Hickey shares her reflection on these important questions:

1. What do you want to start? “I want to start believing more deeply in myself and in the God-given gifts I have received and to use them for the good of humankind. One can get wrapped up in what is wrong in one’s life and then get paralyzed with low self-worth or the inability to see the needs of others. I want to believe truly that God has gifted me to be a special presence to others for their good.”
2. What do you want to stop? “I want to stop my judgments of others and sometimes my non-acceptance of them.”
3. What do you want to continue? “To continue to work on numbers 1 and 2!”

Sr. Margaret also shared what she is praying for in 2024. “I pray for peace in our world, a peace that respects all people for who they are no matter race, religion, identity, economic status—so that there is a magnificent inclusivity in our world. I pray especially for our nation and its leaders that those who have power will make decisions only for the good of our nation and build a stronger democracy. May all divisions end.”