Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Wishes and blessings for Holy Christmas 2025 and Blessed New Year 2026.
We have entered the last few days of 2025 and will soon cross the threshold into the new year 2026. This season of Christmas has been filled with many events and celebrations that gave us little time to pause and reflect. With the school academic year rescheduled to pre-pandemic school terms, students get a restart in January 2026. Soon it will be a busy time for children, students and parents (including grandparents) whose lives primarily revolve around the children’s schedules.
The Christmas Season and the New Year are good times for friends and family to celebrate with gratitude and thanksgiving to God for all the blessings, and for journeying with us throughout the year 2025. Allow me to share with you some reflections on the life of Jesus.
Emmanuel (25 December 2025)
Emmanuel means “God is with us”. Emmanuel celebrates Jesus our God who comes to live among us, to share our humanity – our joys, pains and sufferings. The same Jesus walks with us, offering hope and meaning in our daily life.
Holy Family of Nazareth (28 Dec 2025)
This is the family of Mary, Joseph with the child Jesus, living together as a family. It is within this family life that Jesus was taught scriptures and grew up in wisdom and faith. Life would never be easy for this poor family of Nazareth but they had each other.
Together, Joseph and Mary gave Jesus a home built with love and taught him values and lessons of life. Joseph as a carpenter, would have taught Jesus to work with his hands as well as brought him along while working in the towns in Galilee. Jesus would have seen the builders, farmers sowing the fields, fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. We hear these stories in Jesus’ teachings.
Mary with her faith, had said her YES to be the handmaid of the Lord. She had stood by faithfully at the foot of the Cross. We can learn from this Holy Family that though life can be challenging and difficult at times, especially when our loved ones passed on, we are to hold firm together. For when we have Jesus within our family, we can confidently sail through the storms of life with hope and faith.
Baptism of Jesus (11 January 2026)
The Christmas season ends with the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. We know that “Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his work” (Lk 3:23). In a way, the Church calendar seems to “fast forward” the life of Jesus – from a baby at Christmas to become a 30-year adult being baptised in the River Jordan – all in less than three weeks in our Church calendar. Have you wondered why the Christmas season is so short?
Reflecting on this, I understand the intentions of our Mother Church:
- We are not to stay and adore the child Jesus in the manger. Following the model of the Holy Family, we are to remain faithful as husband and wife, provide a home and faith environment for children, teaching respect for the elderly and kindness to one another.
- By our baptism, we become children of God and are given responsibilities as Christians. Like Jesus who was sent forth on a mission after his baptism, we are sent forth to witness God’s love, mercy, kindness to the people around us.
Hence, at the beginning of the new year 2026, Mother Church will remind us of our calling and send us forth as disciples into society to bring peace, mercy and hope to everyone and all creation.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, on behalf of all the Catholic Bishops in Malaysia and especially the Catholic Church in Sarawak, I, Archbishop Simon Poh of Kuching, together with Bishop Joseph Hii of Sibu and Bishop Richard Ng of Miri; with Archbishops Emeriti, Priests and Religious, would like to send to you and also to our friends of goodwill, our Christmas wishes, prayers and blessings.
+ Most Rev Simon Poh
Archbishop of Kuching
President of the Malaysian Catholic Bishops’ Conference
