(LifeSiteNews) — Catholics must use Christmas and the New Year as a time to strengthen our resolve to defend the truth of the faith, even in the face of attacks from secular society and within the Church. 

We as Catholics should not give in to despair or let our anxieties and fears about the state of the Church, Latin Mass restrictions, nor Pope Francis knock us from the path to Heaven. 

First, let us be careful not to waste away hours doom scrolling about the state of the Church and politics or getting into social media fights. It is good to be informed about what is going on in the world, particularly as it affects the sanctity of human life, family, and the Church. But feeding our fears by reading story after story of bad news will only lead us further into despair. Fr. James Martin does not care what you tweet at him, so stop wasting time trying to correct him. 

Second, Christmas and the New Year are a good time to establish a regular prayer routine. No bishop or pope can take away our rosaries or the writings of the saints. Each family, led by the husband, will need to discern the best prayer routine, but let us all agree if you have 30 minutes to watch a TV show, you have 20 minutes to pray a rosary.   

The routine might be broken up throughout the day – a morning offering at breakfast, a decade of the rosary at lunch, a rosary together as a family in the evening. We are blessed to have Catholic publishers that keep alive the writings of saints and other holy people. I suggest always having a good book nearby and setting aside 10 or 15 minutes a day to read it. 

One habit I am trying to get into is substituting checking my phone with saying a prayer or picking up a book. I find the few minutes of idleness here or there while waiting in the checkout line or making lunch are often filled by scrolling on Twitter or Facebook. Instead, I would like to pick up a book by a saint or say five Aves instead while waiting.  

Finally, we should be praying and thanking God for the opportunities we do have to attend the Latin Mass. We should thank God for the priests who still offer the Latin Mass and are striving to help the faithful, as well as those who do not offer the Latin Mass but still promote orthodoxy and the truth.  

It is understandable and temping to focus on the day-to-day battles within secular society and the Catholic Church, a distinction that seems to be disappearing, but let us turn toward the long game, our eternal salvation, while we pray for the strength to make it through each daily fight.