New Year, New You — Made New in Christ

From Self-Improvement to Sanctification: Letting Christ Make You New | by John Sablan, O.P.Co-Founder & President, World Ablaze Inc.

Every year, men make resolutions to get stronger, more disciplined, more successful. But what if this year wasn’t about becoming a “better version” of yourself—but about becoming a new man in Christ?

That’s the invitation the Gospel gives us. Not surface-level self-improvement, but interior transformation. “Put off your old self… and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24).

For much of my life, I lived caught between who I was and who God was calling me to be. As a survivor of abuse and dysfunction, I carried deep wounds from my childhood—wounds that shaped my relationships, distorted my view of God, and kept me trapped in cycles of brokenness. Like many men, I tried to outrun that pain through achievement, success, and control. I was performing well on the outside but crumbling on the inside.

It wasn’t until everything started to fall apart—my marriage, my family, my peace—that I finally faced the man in the mirror. I was tired of pretending, tired of living half for God and half for the world. At my lowest point, a brother in Christ invited me to a men’s conference. There, during confession, I encountered the mercy of God in a way that changed my life forever. I poured out my sins through tears, and through that act of humility and surrender, the Lord began to rebuild me from the inside out.

That was the moment I realized what renewal really means. It’s not about perfection—it’s about purification. God allows our old self to die so He can raise up something new.

Through that journey, I discovered the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas and the practical path to sanctity through virtue. Aquinas teaches that holiness isn’t accidental—it’s intentional. By cooperating with grace and cultivating habits of goodness—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—we begin to live with clarity, freedom, and peace.

That’s the mission of Serviam Institute: to help men become who God made them to be by mastering themselves, leading their families, and transforming the world through virtue and grace.

So as this new year begins, don’t just make resolutions—make room for redemption. Let Christ renew your heart, reorder your life, and remind you that no man is too broken to be restored.

Christ doesn’t just improve us—He transforms us. And when men are made new in Christ, families are healed, parishes are strengthened, and the world begins to change.