NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE

Time keeps moving, whether we’re ready or not. We can’t stop it, and we can’t stop a new year from beginning. But what we can choose is how we begin this year—and what we decide to pursue as it unfolds.

We also can’t undo the past. We can remain stuck in regret, or we can choose gratitude. We may not be able to erase our mistakes, but with God’s grace, we can learn from them and allow them to shape us into better, more loving people.

This past year has not been easy. There have been events that caused distress, hopelessness, despair, and even distrust in people and institutions. At times, it can leave us feeling overwhelmed or paralyzed, unsure of how to move forward.

Today, on January 1, we are reminded of a powerful grace: we begin the year celebrating the birth of Jesus and honoring Mary as the Mother of God. God chose to enter our world not with force, but as a child, born into love and entrusted to a mother. This reminds us that God is close, gentle, and present—even in uncertainty.

As people of faith, we are not called to remain stuck. We are called to choose hope. Hope does not ignore pain; it meets it with trust and responds with action. Even small acts of kindness, honesty, and compassion can help heal what feels broken.

As we begin this new year, may we choose faith over fear and love over indifference. May the Holy Spirit guide our steps, and may Mary, our Mother, walk with us as we strive to follow Jesus each day.

We place this new year in God’s hands, trusting that through Christ, light is always stronger than darkness.

Happy New Year! May God bless you, strengthen you, and keep you close throughout the year.

+Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, D.D.

Archbishop of Caceres