2026 NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: Give priority to those who take your breath away, not your smile!
You may have seen my post last night on Facebook, including photos (facebook.com/joan.lewis.10420): “I was filled with joy tonight at the Te Deum liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica when I heard (and recognized the voice) then saw the cantor of the intercessions….Raymond Pereira…the beloved cantor in our parish, St. Patrick’s! His wonderful wife, Dafrosa is our talented organist and pianist!”
To listen to Raimundo (Raymond), start here on the full video of the liturgy: 52.14 (Pope Leo’s introduction to the intercessions): 31 December 2025 Vespers and Te Deum – Pope Leo XIV
POPE: THE NEW YEAR IS ‘A JOURNEY TO BE DISCOVERED’
Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first public Mass of 2026 on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, telling believers that Mary has revealed the ‘unarmed and disarming’ face of God.
By Joseph Tulloch (Vatican News)
“May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace”.
Pope Leo opened the homily at his first Mass of 2026 by reflecting on this blessing from the Book of Numbers, taken from the day’s first reading.
The blessing, he said, was addressed to the people of Israel, who had just been liberated from slavery in Egypt, and had been offered a “rebirth”, an “open road toward the future”.
In this way, the Pope noted, the day’s liturgy reminds us that “every day can be the beginning of a new life, thanks to God’s generous love, his mercy and the response of our freedom.”
We should thus view the coming year, the Pope urged the roughly 5,500 faithful in attendance, as “an open journey to be discovered”.
READ THE FULL TEXT OF POPE LEO’S HOMILY HERE
Mary and an ‘unarmed’ God
The day’s liturgy marked both the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the World Day of Peace.
In his homily, the Pope explored the tight relationship between the two celebrations. With Mary’s co-operation, he said, God arrived amongst us “naked and defenceless”, a “newborn in a cradle.”
“He does this”, the Pope explained, to teach us that the world is not saved by violence but by “tirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear.”
“In Mary’s divine motherhood”, the Pope emphasised, two ‘unarmed realities’ come together: “that of God, who renounces every privilege of his divinity to be born in the flesh, and that of a human person who, trustingly and fully, embraces God’s will.”
Jubilee: ‘Forgiveness received and given’
The Pope brought his homily to a close by reflecting on the 2025 Jubilee Year, which will come to an end on the 6th January.
He did so by citing the words of his predecessor Pope St John Paul II, at the closure of the 2000 Jubilee:
“How many extraordinary occasions the Great Jubilee has offered to believers! In the experience of forgiveness received and given, in the commemoration of the martyrs, in listening to the cry of the world’s poor… we too have glimpsed the saving presence of God in history. We have, as it were, physically felt his love which renews the face of the earth.”
Link to full video of Mass at end of report
POPE LEO: PRAY FOR PEACE IN OUR WORLD AND OUR FAMILIES
In his first Angelus address for 2026, Pope Leo reminds us that the Jubilee has taught us how to cultivate hope for a new world, and says that God is inviting us “to renew our times by finally ushering in an era of peace and friendship among peoples.” At the Angelus prayer for the World Day of Peace, Pope Leo called on the faithful to pray together for peace “first among nations bloodied by conflict and suffering, but also within our homes, in families wounded by violence and pain.” The Holy Father said that, with the coming of the new year, “the Lord invites us to renew our times by finally ushering in an era of peace and friendship among all peoples.” Pope Leo: Pray for peace in our world and our families – Vatican News
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