C
Church_Militant
Guest
Christmas 2013
My Brothers,
As some of you know, every year I try to send you all a letter of special greetings at Christmas. I know that this is often the most difficult time to be in prison and I want to let you all know that no matter what, you are never forgotten. I make a point of remembering all of you at every Mass that I attend.
You are never alone and you are constantly becoming better men because of your faith and the constant encounter you have with Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis points this out in his latest letter, ***EVANGELII GAUDIUM, ***when he says, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.”
He goes on to tell us,
“Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is nothing else than the culmination of the way he lived his entire life. Moved by his example, we want to enter fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, listening to their concerns, helping them materially and spiritually in their needs, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep; arm in arm with others, we are committed to building a new world. But we do so not from a sense of obligation, not as a burdensome duty, but as the result of a personal decision which brings us joy and gives meaning to our lives.
Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people.”
My dear brothers…we are that people. Amid all that we suffer day by day, we share in that suffering that Jesus suffered for us, and, we are transformed by His grace and mercy into His likeness so that, as we live out the spiritual reality that is our life in Him, others will see Him and be drawn to Him even as we were. Pope Francis says all this far better than I can.
“Faith also means believing in God, believing that he truly loves us, that he is alive, that he is mysteriously capable of intervening, that he does not abandon us and that he brings good out of evil by his power and his infinite creativity. It means believing that he marches triumphantly in history with those who “are called and chosen and faithful” (*Rev *17:14). Let us believe the Gospel when it tells us that the kingdom of God is already present in this world and is growing, here and there, and in different ways: like the small seed which grows into a great tree (cf. *Mt *13:31-32), like the measure of leaven that makesthe dough rise (cf. *Mt *13:33) and like the good seed that grows amid the weeds (cf. *Mt *13, 24-30) and can always pleasantly surprise us. The kingdom is here, it returns, it struggles to flourish anew. Christ’s resurrection everywhere calls forth seeds of that new world; even if they are cut back, they grow again, for the resurrection is already secretly woven into the fabric of this history, for Jesus did not rise in vain. May we never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope!
Because we do not always see these seeds growing, we need an interior certainty, a conviction that God is able to act in every situation, even amid apparent setbacks: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (*2 Cor *4:7). This certainty is often called “a sense of mystery”. It involves knowing with certitude that all those who entrust themselves to God in love will bear good fruit (cf. *Jn *15:5). This fruitfulness is often invisible, elusive and unquantifiable. We can know quite well that our lives will be fruitful, without claiming to know how, or where, or when. We may be sure that none of our acts of love will be lost, nor any of our acts of sincere concern for others. No single act of love for God will be lost, no generous effort is meaningless, no painful endurance is wasted. All of these encircle our world like a vital force. Sometimes it seems that our work is fruitless, but mission is not like a business transaction or investment, or even a humanitarian activity. It is not a show where we count how many people come as a result of our publicity; it is something much deeper, which escapes all measurement. It may be that the Lord uses our sacrifices to shower blessings in another part of the world which we will never visit. The Holy Spirit works as he wills, when he wills and where he wills; we entrust ourselves without pretending to see striking results. We know only that our commitment is necessary. Let us learn to rest in the tenderness of the arms of the Father amid our creative and generous commitment. Let us keep marching forward; let us give him everything, allowing him to make our efforts bear fruit in his good time.”
So, my friends, as we celebrate this Christmas wherever we are, know that each of you will be remembered at Midnight Mass and that you are all constantly remembered in my prayers.
May this Christmas be a transforming time for each of us that draws us into a ever closer and ongoing encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ so that we may journey on with Him until we finally enter His Kingdom, leading many others with us.
My Brothers,
As some of you know, every year I try to send you all a letter of special greetings at Christmas. I know that this is often the most difficult time to be in prison and I want to let you all know that no matter what, you are never forgotten. I make a point of remembering all of you at every Mass that I attend.
You are never alone and you are constantly becoming better men because of your faith and the constant encounter you have with Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis points this out in his latest letter, ***EVANGELII GAUDIUM, ***when he says, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.”
He goes on to tell us,
“Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is nothing else than the culmination of the way he lived his entire life. Moved by his example, we want to enter fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, listening to their concerns, helping them materially and spiritually in their needs, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep; arm in arm with others, we are committed to building a new world. But we do so not from a sense of obligation, not as a burdensome duty, but as the result of a personal decision which brings us joy and gives meaning to our lives.
Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people.”
My dear brothers…we are that people. Amid all that we suffer day by day, we share in that suffering that Jesus suffered for us, and, we are transformed by His grace and mercy into His likeness so that, as we live out the spiritual reality that is our life in Him, others will see Him and be drawn to Him even as we were. Pope Francis says all this far better than I can.
“Faith also means believing in God, believing that he truly loves us, that he is alive, that he is mysteriously capable of intervening, that he does not abandon us and that he brings good out of evil by his power and his infinite creativity. It means believing that he marches triumphantly in history with those who “are called and chosen and faithful” (*Rev *17:14). Let us believe the Gospel when it tells us that the kingdom of God is already present in this world and is growing, here and there, and in different ways: like the small seed which grows into a great tree (cf. *Mt *13:31-32), like the measure of leaven that makesthe dough rise (cf. *Mt *13:33) and like the good seed that grows amid the weeds (cf. *Mt *13, 24-30) and can always pleasantly surprise us. The kingdom is here, it returns, it struggles to flourish anew. Christ’s resurrection everywhere calls forth seeds of that new world; even if they are cut back, they grow again, for the resurrection is already secretly woven into the fabric of this history, for Jesus did not rise in vain. May we never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope!
Because we do not always see these seeds growing, we need an interior certainty, a conviction that God is able to act in every situation, even amid apparent setbacks: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (*2 Cor *4:7). This certainty is often called “a sense of mystery”. It involves knowing with certitude that all those who entrust themselves to God in love will bear good fruit (cf. *Jn *15:5). This fruitfulness is often invisible, elusive and unquantifiable. We can know quite well that our lives will be fruitful, without claiming to know how, or where, or when. We may be sure that none of our acts of love will be lost, nor any of our acts of sincere concern for others. No single act of love for God will be lost, no generous effort is meaningless, no painful endurance is wasted. All of these encircle our world like a vital force. Sometimes it seems that our work is fruitless, but mission is not like a business transaction or investment, or even a humanitarian activity. It is not a show where we count how many people come as a result of our publicity; it is something much deeper, which escapes all measurement. It may be that the Lord uses our sacrifices to shower blessings in another part of the world which we will never visit. The Holy Spirit works as he wills, when he wills and where he wills; we entrust ourselves without pretending to see striking results. We know only that our commitment is necessary. Let us learn to rest in the tenderness of the arms of the Father amid our creative and generous commitment. Let us keep marching forward; let us give him everything, allowing him to make our efforts bear fruit in his good time.”
So, my friends, as we celebrate this Christmas wherever we are, know that each of you will be remembered at Midnight Mass and that you are all constantly remembered in my prayers.
May this Christmas be a transforming time for each of us that draws us into a ever closer and ongoing encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ so that we may journey on with Him until we finally enter His Kingdom, leading many others with us.
The peace of the Lord be with you all,
