Pope Leo XIV: The New Year Is ‘A Journey to Be Discovered’

Vatican City, January 1, 2025:

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first public Mass of 2026 on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, calling on the faithful to see the new year as “an open journey to be discovered” and a fresh beginning shaped by God’s mercy and love.

Opening his homily, the Pope reflected on the biblical blessing from the Book of Numbers, invoking the Lord’s promise of peace and grace. He recalled that the blessing was first given to the people of Israel after their liberation from slavery in Egypt, marking a rebirth and the opening of a future filled with hope. In the same way, he said, each day offers the possibility of a new beginning through God’s generous love and the free response of humanity.

Addressing around 5,500 faithful gathered for the celebration, Pope Leo urged believers to approach the year ahead not with fear or resignation but as a journey entrusted to God and shaped by faith.

The liturgy also marked the World Day of Peace, which the Pope closely linked to the Solemnity of Mary. Reflecting on Mary’s role in salvation history, he said that through her cooperation, God chose to come into the world “naked and defenceless,” as a newborn placed in a manger. This, he explained, reveals the “unarmed and disarming” face of God.

The Pope stressed that the world is not saved through violence, but through constant efforts to understand, forgive, liberate, and welcome others without fear or calculation. In Mary’s divine motherhood, he said, two unarmed realities meet: God, who renounces divine privilege to take on human flesh, and a human being who freely and trustingly embraces God’s will.

Concluding his homily, Pope Leo reflected on the nearing end of the 2025 Jubilee Year, which concludes on January 6. Citing Pope John Paul II, he recalled how jubilee celebrations allow believers to experience forgiveness received and given, attentiveness to the poor, and the enduring witness of the martyrs. These moments, he said, reveal God’s saving presence in history and His love that renews the face of the earth.

Courtesy: Vatican News

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