On Thursday, January 1, 2026, New Year’s Day morning, His Holiness Mor Ignatius Aphrem II presided over the Holy Liturgy, celebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Chamoun, in the presence of His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak, and His Eminence Mor Silvanos Ayoub at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Paramus, New Jersey.
In his homily, Archbishop Kawak invited the faithful to begin the New Year with a sober yet hope-filled question: If this were the only year God granted us, what kind of life would we live to honor Him? He reminded the congregation that time is not merely something we spend, but a sacred gift entrusted to us an offering we return to God. Therefore, the Christian life is a call to “redeem the time” and not to drift through the days without purpose.
His Eminence emphasized that while we can change a calendar, only Christ can renew the heart. True renewal, he explained, is found in being “in Christ,” becoming a “new creation,” as the Lord makes “a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Moving beyond ordinary resolutions, he urged everyone to “seek first the kingdom of God,” to let Christ be not a guest but the Lord of life, and to step into the unknown year with confidence in the Lord’s promise: “I am with you always.”
Drawing from the spirit of the Fathers especially Saint Ephrem’s call to daily renewal and Saint Basil’s reminder that God’s guidance preserves us from darkness Archbishop Kawak concluded with a pastoral appeal: not “New Year, new me,” but “New Year, more of Christ in me.” He also expressed deep gratitude for the fatherly presence, blessing, and prayers of His Holiness Mor Ignatius Aphrem II among the faithful.
