Faith

Friday, January 2, 2026Faith

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This column will publish on Jan. 2. At the turning of the year, it is customary to adopt resolutions for the new year. With purposes simple and profound, we seek some way to improve ourselves or our circumstances. I would like to offer some resolutions for your consideration.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

A few days before Christmas, I had the blessing of celebrating Holy Mass and visiting families at Boston Children's Hospital. As in prior visits, I was deeply moved by the opportunity to meet and pray with families in very challenging circumstances. Their faith in the midst of struggle and their tender care for one another, even when exhausted, gave a powerful witness.
Another blessing of this and prior visits involved the assistance and welcome of the pastoral care team at the hospital. I am grateful to Rabbi Susan and Imam Ibrahim for their compassionate accompaniment of families and for their kindness in welcoming me and guiding me through the many halls and wings of the hospital. It was striking to see the obvious rapport between these two ministers and the warmth of their welcome to me and their delight to see Catholic families receive a visit. These two individuals are open, generous, and joyful, but I could not help but think that the difficult nature of their work also contributes to their clear rapport and closeness. Is it not true that when we see others suffering, especially children, it puts all of the other challenges of life in perspective? Perhaps it is that universal human experience of fear, loss, and anguish that lowers boundaries and builds solidarity and compassion?

I have had the friendship between the Rabbi and Imam and our rapport much on my mind during the days of Christmas. Around the world and close to home, there is much that causes anxiety and suffering. Too much of that flows from the human capacity for hatred, oppression, and violence. In our own culture, violent deeds are all too common, and our media overflows with anger, narcissism, and judgment.
Even as I feel the pathology of the culture, I am perplexed that when I travel about the archdiocese, I meet people of optimism, compassion, and neighborliness. There are exceptions, of course, but the vast majority of the people and communities that I encounter demonstrate care for one another and a desire to help those in need. It makes me think that the media culture may not be a true reflection of our communities. Maybe there is a quiet majority, doing the work of compassion without drawing attention to themselves.
This column will publish on Jan. 2. At the turning of the year, it is customary to adopt resolutions for the new year. With purposes simple and profound, we seek some way to improve ourselves or our circumstances. I would like to offer some resolutions for your consideration.
I propose that when we feel anger towards someone, we turn our thoughts instead to those who are suffering and allow compassion to rise in place of judgment. I propose that in an environment where some are too quick to condemn and criticize, that we actively seek opportunities to encourage and console. It may be easier to tear down rather than build up, but that choice to build brings blessing.
God bless Rabbi Susan, Imam Ibrahim, and their colleagues at Boston Children's Hospital. Their powerful example of dedication and hard work for the sake of the suffering is an inspiration. Likewise, those children and their families who love, laugh, and walk together through the impossible remind me of the beauty and gift of being human. I will be resolved to remember them each day of 2026 in the exercise of my ministry. I will be resolved to remember that God is found in connection, in kindness, and in loving care of one another.
May God bless you and yours in the new year with good health and a deep and abiding love.

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston