A Christmas filled with peace

MISSIONARI COMBONIANI DEL CUORE DI GESÙ

A Christmas filled with peace

Finally we reached Bethlehem late in the evening. My God! Was that the place Jesus chose to be born in? That very evening I wanted to go down to the blessed Grotto which saw the Creator of the world being born. I entered it and, although birth is more joyful than death, I was nonetheless more moved than on Calvary, at the thought of the condescension of a God who humbled himself to the point of being born in this manger. (Writings 111)

Dear Confreres,

Christmas is a time of sure hope, a time to savour God’s surprises and our own deep desire to become more fully the persons we are called to be. Christmas reminds us that the Lord never tires of us, and comes among us yet again to enjoy the company of each one of us.

Once again during these days, which seem to be nothing special if we look at the situation in our world, we shall witness the fidelity of a God who returns - though in fact he never left us – to set his dwelling among those he loves with all his heart, because the Word became flesh for love alone.

For us Comboni Missionaries, this Christmas hope is coloured and given fresh lustre by the experience of the XVII General Chapter, which has left us the mandate of looking to the future with confidence and courage, because we have understood that we are experiencing even today the hour of God, when he longs to make all things new. It is here and now that we are challenged to look to tomorrow as an opportunity for living our mission with new passion. It is now that we are called to recognise that the Lord has a loving plan that he wants to achieve through our service as missionaries in joy and wholehearted availability.

In these days, which invite us to silence, listening and contemplation so as to recognise the poverty of the crib, we too are invited to ask ourselves where the Lord is touching our lives and where he is manifesting himself in our mission.

We are in a season that invites us, too, to celebration, so that we may spread joy, and open the door of our hearts to the Word who becomes one of us, to remind us that humanity continues to be the place where God delights to be, the rendezvous between God’s dream and the longings of the men and women of this world.

May the Lord grant us the grace to live the mystery of his incarnation as an unmistakeable call to renew our commitment to the proclamation of the Word, so as to be credible signs of his presence in the world.

Wishing you every good thing, we greet you and wish you a Christmas filled with peace. May the Lord who comes as a witness of love and life accompany you and your communities in these days and always.

May the joy of the Lord fill your hearts.

Rome, December 2009.

P. Enrique Sánchez González

P. Odelir José Magri

P. Alberto Pelucchi

P. Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie

Br. Daniele Giusti