New Year Sermon

Another year has dawned like a golden dawn, touched by God's grace. Time passes, but His love remains eternal, embracing our every moment, filling our existence with hope, comfort, and light.

The new year is like a blank sheet of paper that the Lord gives us, so that we can write on it with our works and our faith our own "yes" to His will. It is our opportunity to leave behind the darkness of sin, to forgive, to heal wounds, to open our hearts wide to our neighbor and to God.

Let every dawn of the new year become a prayer, a plea for His presence to fill our lives. Let every sunset become an opportunity for gratitude, for God never leaves us alone, even when the path seems difficult.

Let us make 2025 the year of love and sacrifice. Of love that knows no cost and sacrifice that gives life. Let us remember that in our simplest actions—in a plate of food we share, in a smile we offer, in a word of comfort we whisper—is the face of Christ.

Do not be afraid of the obstacles you will encounter. They are the stations of your own spiritual journey, the opportunities to see God's hand at work. And remember: the cross you carry is never heavier than the strength He gives you.

I wish that the new year will be a new beginning of spiritual fruitfulness. May it be a year full of heavenly light, a year where every heart will become a vessel of divine grace and every life will become a hymn of praise.

His Eminence Bishop of Toliara and Southern Madagascar Prodromos