Belizeans Encouraged to Begin Year Purposefully

The start of a new year often sparks a desire for physical and spiritual renewal. Two prominent church leaders are offering guidance to help Belizeans start 2026 with purpose and reflection. Archbishop Philip Wright reminds us that the season is a time for new beginnings and self-examination, while Father Scott Giuliani encourages believers to make resolutions that nurture both body and soul, from deepening faith through scripture to repairing broken relationships. Their messages call for intentional steps toward growth, peace, and community.

 

Philip S. Wright, Archbishop

“The new year always brings with it the hope to turn a new leaf, start a new chapter. It brings with it the promise of restart, new beginnings and obviously that is one of the things that has led many of us to make these resolutions and promises and even though many of them go unfulfilled, I think this annual rituals we put ourselves through betrays the fact that we recognize there is always the room for improvement. On the first of January we celebrate Holy Name, in other words, in the Jewish tradition of Jesus’ day, eight days after a baby is born, a male child, that child would be circumcised and the child would be given his name. Perhaps tying  the two together as we start the new year, perhaps a useful thing to do is to ask ourselves, who am I really, who are we as a community? Who are we as a nation?”

 

Father Scott Giuliani, Priest, Divine Mercy Church

“What are two spiritual guides for the new year? Our body and soul, maybe we feel like we have ate a little bit too much or we are going to visit a doctor because of diabetes and hypertension. We also have a soul and when we built up the vice and cant resist the temptations, like we do with those yummy food that we probably should not eat, we also can make a resolution to make amends. Read the scripture more and make certain decisions in our spiritual life to be more intentional at being a Christian. Secondly, another spiritual resolution, because of the incarnation our spirituality in most times, our relationships, our families, sometimes those relationships gets tough. So I would say a good resolution for 2026 is to repair one relationship that has been broken. Reach out to that person and say I am sorry, forgive and work towards peace that way.”