When people have problems—debt, conflicts, addictions—they focus on erasing those problems. Putting it mathematically, they aim to go from being a -10 or -5 to a 0.

Here’s my big advice: Don’t just focus on erasing your problems. Aim higher! Dream of living a great life. Here’s why. From experience, when you just focus on erasing your problems, you end up tired, worried, and discouraged. Because it’s difficult to be free from problems when you focus on them. So focus on your dream instead. When you focus on your dream, you get fired up. You get excited about your future life. You attract more energy, more resources, and more blessings. 

So don’t aim for zero. Aim for five, 10, or 100. Aim for bundance. And you’ll solve your problems along the way. 

Today, think of the dreams that God has planted in your heart. The dreams that were put on hold last year. The dreams that you want to build again this year. Despite the problems, be at peace that the Lord is with you, not leaving you until these dreams are fulfilled. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

 reflect:

Is the first day of your year a negative or a zero? God has blessed you with a new day. Focus on your dream and take another step closer. 

Lord, I surrender 2025 to You as I trust in Your abundance. Amen. 

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

First Reading | Numbers 6:22-27

It is natural for us to receive blessings that are bestowed upon us. As we reflect on today’s First Reading, let us be mindful that God is the Giver of these blessings. It is our humble role, perhaps even our duty, to receive them with gratitude. Have a look at the substance of these blessings and see what it is that God is giving you. What is your response to Him? 

²² The Lord said to Moses: ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: ²⁴ The Lord bless you and keep you! ²⁵ The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! ²⁶ The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! ²⁷ So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R: May God bless us in his mercy. 

² May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. ³ So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. (R) ⁵ May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. (R) ⁶ May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! ⁸ May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! (R) 

Second Reading | Galatians 4:4-7

Let us celebrate the gift of salvation that comes through Jesus. Let us honor Mary as our mother and the mother of Jesus, and honor her obedience to Gods call. Her life is an example of everything a disciple of Jesus should be. She is the first and most perfect disciple of her Son. Let us be inspired by her response to God’s call as we live our own lives of discipleship. 

⁴ Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God. 

Gospel | Luke 2:16-21

The place of the birth of Jesus is inauspicious. Yet, look at what the baby born in a manger accomplishes. If such a transition is possible for Jesus as a result of His Father’s will, then let us believe that He has big things in store for each of us as well. Let us seek His will, find it, and be obedient to it. 

Gospel Acclamation

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son. 

¹⁶ The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,and the infant lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When theysaw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. ²¹ When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 

Read the Bible in one year!Read LUKE i - 4 today.

Make Your 2025 a Pilgrimage of Hope

Today’s readings remind us that we, Christians, walk along two timelines. For us, time is not just the forward passing of seconds (chronos), but also moments of divine opportunity, or God’s perfect timing (kairos). 

“When the fullness of time had come,” says Paul in Galatians, “God sent His Son.” What is this fullness? Who can predict it? God’s time will always be a mystery to us. Such is the basis of our hope: that God has His own perfect time, which no one can predict or influence. His perfect wisdom, justice, and plans are not ours to control but ours to completely rely on, as Mary did, whose faith led her to say yes and believe that God’s timeline was more important than her own. 

As we put to action our carefully designed plans, may we look up to Mary, Mother of God and model of hope. Let us trust that whether it is the first day of the year, the middle of a difficult month, or near the end of another year where nothing seems to have gone our way, God’s interventions can happen anytime, anywhere, in ways unimagined, and always better than anything we could have anticipated. 

As we remain in God’s mysteries, we navigate life’s twists and turns, and ponder them with faith in our hearts. Like Mary and Joseph, we remain obedient to God’s commandments and stay close to the Church, so that when it is our turn to receive His invitation to what He has been preparing for us all along, we can also give our wholehearted yes. With this in our hearts and minds, Jubilee Year 2025 will surely be a pilgrimage of hope. May we radiate this hope so that others can be lifted up, too, by God’s perfect plan for them. Fr. Albert Garong, SSP 

reflection question

How can you be a pilgrim and ambassador of hope this new year? 

Guide us through this year as pilgrims of hope, always trusting in Your divine plan, even if it means letting go of our own. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________