Be agents of hope

Christmas is usually a time of joy, of merriment, of laughter, of family reunion; more importantly, it’s a time of great rejoicing at the coming of the Christ-child into our hearts and into the world. This year, these joyful moments become elusive for many as they succumb to the onslaught of our worsening financial situation and its devastating effects. Many are desperately looking for some degree of hope.

It is in such situations that the words of the prophet Isaiah can help to put our celebration in the right perspective. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Our world gives us excuses for sadness, but also good reasons for joyful hope. All through the ages mankind has had to face serious challenges, some of which man has been able to overcome. Our problems are not merely economic or political or social; they are fundamentally spiritual. In that regard the words of Pope Benedict XVI rings out: “So Christian prayer depends on our continually looking to Christ, talking with Him, being silent with Him, listening to Him, doing and suffering with Him.”

In this the “Year of Faith” as proclaimed by the Holy Father, our Synod implementation must find expression in the many challenges that confront us as Church within the wider global crisis. This Faith enables us to be hopeful and optimistic, even in the intangible – in what we cannot see. The psalmist says: “If the Lord does not build, in vain does the labourer toil.” This is the message that numerous men and women of good will must not cease to proclaim by putting the Gospel into practice. The great message of that hope is Christ himself.

This Christmas, you and I can make a positive difference in the lives of persons who seem to be of weak faith and hopeless. We are being challenged to be agents of hope, to be little spots of light that would illuminate the lives of others. Our celebration ought not to be just about merriment, but to focus on Christ who came into our world to be in solidarity with us through suffering, and thus giving us enhanced faith, new vision, new hope, new life as we prepare to face the future with all its challenges.

I wish all a Merry Christmas and God’s abundant blessings for the New Year.

(Christmas Message by Bishop Vincent Darius, OP)