Catholic Commission for Social Justice
Gospel: Mt 2:13-15, 19-23
When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,“ Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.
As 2013 draws to a close and we take stock of where we are in T&T/the world, it is clear that, in many ways, our world is in a sorry state and desperately needs healing. We continue to close our hearts to the needs of millions of our brothers and sisters.
Read Pope Francis’ first message for World Day of Peace on the theme: “Fraternity, the foundation and pathway to peace.” When the theme was announced in August, the Vatican pointed out that “an overemphasis on ‘personal well-being’ and general indifference have eroded any sense of responsibility toward others.” His Peace message highlights “the need to combat the ‘throwaway culture’ and to promote instead a ‘culture of encounter’, in order to build a more just and peaceful world.”
My dear brothers and sisters, I hope that your journey through Advent has been prayerful. Isn’t it incredible that God sent His only son, Jesus to save us? What a gift!
It is with a sense of wonder and thanksgiving that we welcome the coming of Christ who is Emmanuel, “God with us”. My heart is filled with great joy and anticipation as we approach the day when we celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who came to earth in human form to save us from original sin; who brought us out of the darkness into the light of His love. Yes, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.”
During a recent discussion with my great-niece in London via Skype, we were speaking about how commercialised Christmas has become. As a 13-year-old Catholic, she is quite aware of the true meaning of Christmas, but admitted that she is often caught up in the hype about what she and her friends are getting for Christmas – and it’s all about brand names. In my day my friends and I talked about what we hoped we would get for Christmas.