Servants of Charity

“Glory to God in the highest
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Lk 2,14

Dear Confreres, 

We have successfully begun Advent, the church new year. Advent this year heralds a song of hope for all those who are in tears. We are gradually relieved from the chains of Covid 19. Yet, fears and anxieties are not over. Advent has significance because it is a season of looking forward and waiting for something greater: both for the annual celebration of our Lord's birth and for the time when Christ will come again. Advent is the season that introduces us to Christmas and its Mystery each year.
Christmas is celebrated in many ways. We exchange gifts, attend Holy Mass, decorate our homes and Christmas trees, and enjoy a family or community dinner. I think there's going to be a lot more creativity in celebrating Christmas. But perhaps the tradition that most warms the heart is the sound of Christmas music. Of all the songs ever sung at Christmas time, the most wonderful of all was the song of the exaltation of an angel of the Lord that was heard by the shepherds while tending their flocks on the night of Christ's birth. (Lk 2,10-11, 13-14) Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of our lives and the pandemic, we forget that the true meaning of Christmas was given to us by the angelic host that holy night long ago. Christmas is the commemoration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, whose message would truly be one of good tidings and great joy, peace, and goodwill.
The Christmas story is one of simplicity. Our Lord and Savior was born in a manger with only His mother and father. His guests were a shepherd, a few animals, and the three magi. It is a heart-warming reminder of the true reason for the season. This year has been difficult for all of us, but we cling to Hope. That amidst all the confusion and fear that the pandemic has brought, God is with us, has always been, and will always be with us.
Christmas celebrates the Incarnation, Emmanuel, “God-with-us”. God's Word becomes flesh, becomes human. As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in Verbum Domini: “The Word was 'abbreviated'…the Eternal Word became small – small enough to fit into a manger. He became a child so that the word could be grasped by us. Now the word is not simply audible; not only does it have a voice, now the word has a face, one which we can see: that of Jesus of Nazareth” (n. 12). These words of the Holy Father echo the mystery that we celebrate at Christmas. When we contemplate the child of Bethlehem, we are invited to see the world as God sees the world and to hope that God's dream, longing, and promise will be fulfilled. The birth of this Child, like the birth of every child, is a powerful sign that God continues to hope, to dream, and to keep His promise of a world made new.
The Incarnation we celebrate at Christmas is not just that the Word became flesh in the womb of Mary and entered human history in the person of Jesus Christ. We celebrate that this same Word of God becomes flesh today – in us and the community. The Incarnate Word continues to act in human history here and now. By becoming our brother, Jesus bound us more intimately to the family of God – and so to one another. As the Word continues to take flesh in us, we recognize one another as brothers and sisters. This recognition changes everything. Thomas Merton has addressed its challenge to us in these words: “His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power, because they are regarded as weak, with those who are discredited, who are denied their status of persons, who are tortured, bombed and exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world.”
Brethren, here we are, nearly at the end of another year. And what a year this has been! You don't need me to remind you of the challenges which this pandemic has caused and how the year has been the most extraordinary year of all our lives. The disruption caused to our familiar activities and routines has been incalculable.
Every Christmas, God invites us to dream, to hope, and to see the world through the eyes of the Redeemer. Through this celebration of Christmas, may God renew our hope and our hearts, and fill us with joy so that we may preach the Gospel ever anew!
In conclusion, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to you all for your commitment and contributions, to the overall growth of our Divine Providence Province; and at this festive period of peace and goodwill, to which I add hope for even brighter prospects to come in the New Year, I wish you all the compliments of the season and my very best wishes for a happy and successful 2022.

“Let us spread more hope, peace, joy, and love this Season!” 

Fr. Ronald J, SdC

Provincial Superior