HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The first word we hear at the beginning of the year 2026 is: Congratulations! "Happy New Year." True happiness can only come to us from God... And it comes to us as a blessing: "May the Lord bless you and keep you... make his face shine upon you… grant you peace," says the Word of God in the first reading on the first day of January.

This blessing reveals a God who does not begin by demanding, but by giving.

Before our personal goals, purposes, and decisions, there is a grace that gives us precedes. We begin the New 2026 sustained by a God who protects, enlightens, bless and accompany.

And in Psalm 66 we hear, "May God have mercy and bless us... that knows the

land their ways, and all nations their salvation."

This divine blessing is the basis of true happiness. It is not just a matter of personal and selfish well-being, but a gift from God and a task to be carried out in community, in family.

God blesses us by showing us his Son who is light to our world and to let us be a reflection of his light among our brothers and sisters.

To begin the year under this blessing is to place ourselves in a position of trust. Life does not it is a lonely struggle: God is present, his face shines and his peace covers us.

Happy & Blessed 2026!