The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!

Every 31st of December, we celebrate and welcome the new year with so many beliefs or superstitions that are of unknown origin which sometimes put our identity as Christians into a very compromising situation. As Christians, we are not supposed to believe in unfounded beliefs and superstitious practices like making noise to dispel bad spirits, jumping at exactly midnight to grow taller, not serving chicken dishes for dinner, etc.

Almost everybody greets everyone with a "Happy New Year!" Well, there is nothing wrong with that, it is a simple way of saying "Be Happy", as Saint Paul says: "Rejoice in the Lord Always, Again I say Rejoice".

With our experiences in the past 2022, we have a lot of reasons to rejoice and continue to do so in 2023. Let's not forget that we should celebrate and welcome the coming year with hope and faith in God that He will continue to shower us with His blessings throughout the year. It can be said that we are still very lucky despite the unfortunate events in our lives in 2022 for we are still alive and kicking up to this very moment.

This is an opportunity for us to reflect on our lives in the past 2022 as we welcome 2023. For those in the government and holding a public office, this year is full of challenges to improve services to the Filipino people.

Among them is traffic congestion along the major thoroughfares and places near shopping centers, malls, parks, churches, and public transport terminals, not to mention the whole stretch of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, from Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan to EDSA — Roxas Boulevard area.

How I wish someone close to His Excellency, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., could share this with him and I am willing to discuss this further given the opportunity. Traffic management and enforcement are crucial in maintaining a smooth flow of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the National Capital Region.

Discipline is one of the key factors to implement it. Sad to say there are several motorists or road users who do not have discipline just as there are a lot of people who lack it.

Even those in institutions like churches, bishops, priests and religious (those men and women wearing the Habit and have professed their vows of charity, poverty and obedience) are also faced with challenges this 2023. They should set a good example to all their members and the Roman Catholic faithful in following Jesus, Mary and Joseph. May these bishops, priests, and religious people refrain from politicizing the Church to allow the Will of God in our daily lives.