Dear Holy Trinity Family,

Happy New Year!

This is the first message of the new year. I would like to send my greetings to the esteemed parishioners of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the New Year. First, paying my profound respects and admirations to you, I would like to commend all of you who have endured the difficult times of the past year. You, who have lived faithfully every day despite social unrest, economic crises, and relationship wounds, are the real witnesses of Faith, Hope, and Love in this era. You all have done well. Hope is not only just a sense of optimism that we feel; it is an unbreakable presence of faith that we trust God is already at work in the midst of a wounded reality of our lives.

As we welcome the new year of 2026, may it be a year full of peace and hope in the Lord. Many of us felt that the past year 2025 ended with great pain and uneasiness in our lives. The difficult times triggered by some unfortunate outcomes of our lives might have left deep scars on all of us. However, even in the midst of these trials, we have been able to find hope, especially in the Year of Hope as the late Holy Father Pope Francis declared last year. Again, hope is not only an optimism, but also a profound faith in the face of trials and comes from the assurance that God is with us, Emmanual, which we remind ourselves of His presence with us every Christmas time. The Apostle Paul said, "We even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4) and teaches that hope is the strength that allows us to move forward.

I hope that this new year, we will live, will be strengthened by this hope. I also hope that the possibilities of hope that we have already seen in the past years will bloom even more, and we all will become a part of Catholic community where we reach out to each other for the common good rather than for our own interests and selfishness, and for each other to be a sign of hope for each other. Let us not give up even in the midst of despair. Although the Jubilee Year is getting to its end, we continuously dream of new beginnings. Let’s stay in hope with this “New Year 2026” and look forward to building a new life with God and each other in the love of the Lord throughout 2026.

I believe that the Lord is with us and will grant us true hope and love on this new journey. May the Lord's blessings be with you in the new year through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary!

In Christ,

Fr. Brian