{"id":69498,"date":"2026-01-19T10:59:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T09:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cana.org\/souhaiter-la-bonne-annee\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:16:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:16:43","slug":"souhaiter-la-bonne-annee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cana.org\/en\/souhaiter-la-bonne-annee\/","title":{"rendered":"Wishing a Happy New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

January\u2026 We wish our friends: “Happy New Year, good health!” and many other wishes for happiness. But deep down\u2026 do the New Year and its array of various wishes have a spiritual meaning? Can a simple change of digit on a calendar and good wishes truly transform our lives?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 1st is not a religious feast for Christians. This date stems primarily from the human organization of time. The fact that the moment marking the start of a new year has not always been the same across different eras and cultures shows that it is not the date itself that is important. Could this need to mark the passage of time and this significant tradition of wishing a “Happy New Year” hide an anxiety about the future? For we must admit, material time can appear as a time of disorder and decay: our planet wears out, the climate is disrupted, wars do not cease, and even we\u2026 our bodies also degrade over time, no matter what we do\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Old Testament, living a long life was considered the greatest blessing. Jesus invites us to change the way we look at time: He died young, and yet His life was fully accomplished. Perhaps the important thing is not quantity, but quality: living fully, by loving, by doing good, and by giving meaning to every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, God\u2019s time is not our time! The person of faith is freed from this anxiety because for the Christian, as Saint Paul says: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”<\/em> (Rom 8:38-39<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Augustine affirms that God’s time is a time of creation, promise, and progression. So perhaps a true “Happy New Year” is not wishing for a year without problems, but a year where, in all circumstances, we will grow inwardly, love more deeply, and move forward with confidence, like a child who grows stronger and is transformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this sense, offering good wishes remains fundamental and precious: it shows the care I have for many people, prioritizing relationships in my life! Wishing a Happy New Year then takes on its full spiritual meaning: saying to another, “I want what is good for you.” This is precisely what a believer’s wishes are. It is offering the words that the Lord Himself gave to Moses for the children of Israel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you! The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace!\u201d (Num 6:24-26<\/strong>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Wishing everyone to welcome God’s blessing in our new year, yes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we are invited to go even further: choosing to bless others ourselves. To bless God for who He is! To bless my neighbor, to bless my spouse, to bless my children!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cInvoke blessing on others, for to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.\u201d (1 Pet 3:9<\/strong>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Our community sister, Virginie, in her book “Change your life, become a blessing!”<\/em>, powerfully expresses how blessing is our deep vocation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBlessing is a formidable weapon, for it transforms everything in its path. It is a creator of new life. It transforms relationships and hearts that are closed in on themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessing also deeply transforms the one who pronounces it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We become carriers of this Word, which is Christ Himself. A Word that does what it says. A performative Word. A Word that opens locked doors and restores life to what is dead in us and in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us enter into the creative joy of blessing, holding the hand of Jesus who is the Blessed One par excellence; blessing in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therein lies the secret of unassailable joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the urgency for our world!\u201d (pages 6 and 7)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The beginning of the year is the time for wishes, but also for resolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let us wish one another and say to each other again: \u201cChange your life, become a blessing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January\u2026 We wish our friends: “Happy New Year, good health!” and many other wishes for happiness. But deep down\u2026 do the New Year and its array of various wishes have a sp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":69496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"country":[],"class_list":["post-69498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reflexion-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWishing a Happy New Year - CANA International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January\u2026 We wish our friends: "Happy New Year, good health!" and many other wishes for happiness. But deep down\u2026 do the New Year and its array of various wishes have a spiritual meaning? 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