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My dear brothers,
Let me take this moment to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!! We hear these great words once again this year which proclaim the wonder of the solemnity we celbrate:
"The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.'"
These words of the angel pronounce perhaps the greatest news ever to be spoken to humanity - that the promise of Emmanuel has come to be; that God is with us and born in a manger in Bethlehem. No other words, no other reality could ever fill us with greater joy.
This is also for us, as son of St. Francis, a feast that is so very special to us. To me, and perhaps to you, this has always seemed to be the most Franciscan of feasts. Our beloved founder was so deeply moved by the reality of the incarnation and he lived a life that embodied the incarnation - St. Francis too, through his living of the Gospel, made Jesus present throughout his life.
And we are called to live likewise in a similarly reflexive way - to come and worship our God who so humbled Himself to take the form of a little child and be born in our midst; and to respond to this miracle of Incarnation by making Jesus present in our world today.
In his address to the members of the Roman Curia this week, Pope Francis set forth before them a series of virtues that they should espouse in their Christian witness. I won't share his full list, but let me offer just a few of them as good advice for us all as we celebrate Christ in our lives this Christmas and look to the year ahead:
Missionary and pastoral spirit: missionary spirit is what makes the Curia evidently fertile and fruitful; it is proof of the effectiveness, efficiency and authenticity of our activity. Faith is a gift, yet the measure of our faith is also seen by the extent to which we communicate it. All baptized persons are missionaries of the Good News, above all by their lives, their work and their witness of joy and conviction.
Spirituality and humanity: spirituality is the backbone of all service in the Church and in the Christian life. It is what nourishes all our activity, sustaining and protecting it from human frailty and daily temptation. Humanity is what embodies the truthfulness of our faith; those who renounce their humanity renounce everything. Humanity is what makes us different from machines and robots which feel nothing and are never moved. Once we find it hard to weep seriously or to laugh heartily, we have begun our decline and the process of turning from "humans" into something else. Humanity is knowing how to show tenderness and fidelity and courtesy to all (cf. Phil 4:5).
My prayer this Christmas is a prayer of profound gratitude to God for the gift of these virtues which help us reflect His Son to the world. As we celebrate the birth of Christ in our midst once again, be assured of my prayers for you and your ministry and how grateful that I am for the gift that you are to our fraternity.
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas, my brothers!
Fraternally, Primo P. Piscitello, OFM Provincial Minister |
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