In this homily given on the secular New Years Day, on which the Church celebrates the feastday of St Basil the Great and commemorates the Circumcision of Christ, Fr Vincent Temirov exhorts us to consider St Maximus the Confessor’s words on acquiring a “circumcision of our hearts”. What can we learn from the Lord’s circumcision? How can we orient our hearts so as to cut off our inclinations towards sin, following the example of holy people like St Basil?