As we welcome the Lunar New Year on February 17, conversations across the city—at dinner tables, on social media, and in quiet personal reflections—are filled with anticipation. For many, the arrival of the Year of the Fire Horse is seen as a promise of renewal: a chance to leave behind difficult chapters of the Year of the Snake and to begin again with courage and momentum.
In an age marked by uncertainty, it is perhaps unsurprising that symbols, numerology, and zodiac interpretations are gaining renewed attention. They offer reassurance, a sense that history and personal lives are moving somewhere meaningful.
The Catholic faith does not read history through astrological signs, nor does it place its hope in cycles of fate. Yet the Church has always understood the human longing beneath such symbols: the desire for renewal, for direction, for assurance that suffering and confusion do not have the final word. At this new lunar year, the Church invites us to lift our eyes beyond destiny and towards hope—hope rooted not in the stars, but in God’s constant presence among his people.
The horse, admired across cultures for its strength, endurance, and forward movement, can still speak to us symbolically. It reminds us that life is not meant to stagnate. Faith, too, is dynamic. As St. Paul writes, we are called to “run so as to win” [1 Corinthians 9:24], pressing forward not through self-made optimism, but through trust in God’s grace. In a city that moves quickly and often bears heavy pressures—economic, social, and emotional—the image of steady yet purposeful movement is deeply resonant.
In his Lunar New Year message published last week in the Sunday Examiner, Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J., reflected on The Picture of a Hundred Horses by the Jesuit painter, Giuseppe Castiglione, noting how the artwork embodies harmony, diversity, and vitality. The painting stands as a reminder that the Catholic faith has long engaged Chinese culture not by erasing its symbols, but by entering into dialogue with them, discerning what can illuminate the Gospel. The horse, then, becomes not an object of belief, but an invitation to reflection: How are we moving forward? What guides our strength?
The “fire” often associated with this year suggests intensity and passion. For Christians, such fire finds its true meaning in the Holy Spirit, who purifies, energises, and sends forth. It is this fire that urges us to move beyond self-preservation towards service, beyond fear towards solidarity, especially with the poor, the weary, and the forgotten.
Renewal does not come from leaving everything behind, but from allowing God to renew us within our real circumstances. In choosing hope over pessimism, trust over fate, and love over indifference, the Church in Hong Kong steps into the new year not merely hoping for change, but becoming a sign of it. May the Year of the Fire Horse be marked with hopeful striving by hearts firmly guided by Christ, moving forward together as “Messengers of Hope”. -jose, CMF
