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Good afternoon. I hope you are already enjoying a restful and pleasant Christmas day. I am delighted to be joined today by Archbishop Alan Harper. Last January Archbishop Alan was appointed Church of Ireland Primate and Archbishop of Armagh. Archbishop, I welcome you and wish you well. We would both like to pay tribute to Archbishop Eames who presented this Christmas Day message for many years. We send our good wishes and gratitude to him and to his family at this special time.
I would also like to thank RTÉ for giving us the opportunity to share our faith with you today. It is our faith in God made visible in the child of the manger, a God with open arms, a God yearning to embrace the world and each one of us in his love.
Christmas speaks to us of love. Love of God for us. God is love and God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. The new born baby speaks to us of the self-giving of God, the self-emptying of God to become one of us. The carols remind us that God choose to be born in simplicity, in the poverty of the manger. One day the wood of the manger would be exchanged for the wood of the Cross ďż˝ the price of love.
I realise that for some, Christmas is not an easy time. The loss of someone we love, financial set backs, strained relationships, ill health, loneliness, these can all leave us feeling isolated or out of sorts with the celebrations at this time of the year. Yet the key message of Christmas is that God wants to be with us in all our needs. Putting on our flesh, dwelling among us, God has entered into all our anxieties and suffering. He did so that we might find new heart and new hope in the experience of his love. My prayer is that all those who know pain of any kind at this time will find peace and healing and new hope in the Christ-Child, in the friend who knows all our needs.
As 2007 comes to an end, there are many reasons to be hopeful. The past year saw further economic growth and prosperity across our island. We continue to have one of the strongest and most robust economies in the world. We should be very grateful for that. Peace in Northern Ireland has really taken hold for the first time in many years. People who, only last year, were suspicious and distrustful of one another are making a real effort to build a better future together and for the common good. At an international level, we have seen the first peace talks between the leaders of Israel and Palestine in seven years. Let us pray that they will continue and bear fruit.
Yet new challenges to our hope also emerge. We have new forms of substance abuse which now take their place alongside our regrettable reputation for the abuse of alcohol. Cocaine and other illegal drugs have become a real threat to our happiness and our cohesion as a society. They offer a false hope and a false escape from the pressures of life. We also have the increasing stress on families and others affected by the instability in international banking and finance. We have the ongoing challenge of poverty. It is shocking to think that 51 homeless people in Belfast and Dublin have died over the last eighteen months. What does this say about our priorities as a society of unprecedented wealth? We have the ongoing concern over global violence and terrorism.
Then there is the challenge of global warming and climate change. The future of the children born in Bethlehem, Belfast, Dublin or Dubai this day is by no means certain unless we alter our behaviour towards the environment as a matter of urgency. The simplicity of the stable into which the Son of God was born should challenge us all to a lifestyle which is more sustainable.
And yet for all these challenges to our hope, there is a more fundamental truth which Christmas offers us. God is with us. We do not face today or the future on our own. The child of Bethlehem was victorious even over death. His love prevailed, just as the goodness and hope that is within each of us can prevail with the help of God. This is the truth we celebrate today. It is why we celebrate with confidence and with joy.
Christmas is not a relic of the past, but a task for the future. As the poet Howard Thurman tells us in his Christmas Prayer:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star of the sky is gone,
when the kings and the princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flock,
the work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among others,
to make music in the heart.
I hope there will be lots of good music in your hearts and in your homes today and in the year to come.
Christmas message to Polish people living in Ireland:
Chciałbym życzyć Wam radosnych i pełnych spokoju świąt Bożego Narodzenia. Proszę o Boże błogosławieństwo dla Waszych rodzin, zarówno tych mieszkających w Irlandii oraz tych w Polsce. Dziękuję Wam za nieustające wsparcie dla Kościoła w Irlandii, którego częścią i Wy teraz jesteście. Dziękuję również za wkład, jaki wnosicie do irlandzkiej społeczności poprzez swoje człowieczeństwo, dary i kulturę. Są to niepoliczalne dobra, z których Irlandia może cieszyć się dziś i będzie z nich czerpać w przyszłości.
[Translation into English:] I would like to wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I ask God's blessing on your families, those living in Ireland and those in Poland. I would like to thank you for your ongoing support of the Church in Ireland, of which you are now an integral part. Thank you also for your contribution to Irish society through your humanity and your particular gifts and culture. These are of immeasurable benefit to Ireland today and will continue be into the future.
top"GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON" (JN 3:16)
This is the gift that we receive at Christmas. The Word of God, that is, his eternal Son, "was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (Jn.1:14). This gift of God's Son came among us not as a grown-up warrior but as a helpless child lying in a manger. To all outward appearances, He was a child like any other child, needing a mother's care.
Like the shepherds we fall on our knees before the crib and try to grasp the meaning of the mystery that is represented before us. Children approach reverently and look on in amazement. The simplest things are often the most mysterious and overwhelming. God's almighty power is so great that He could make himself a small and helpless child.
Contemplating this same mystery, Pope Benedict said: "God's sign is simplicity. God's sign is the baby. God's sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with greatness. He asks for our love."
The Son of God lies in a manger, helpless and defenceless. Yet, He wishes to enrich us with his life and peace. He asks us to make room for Him in our lives. Is that too much to ask? He made himself small so that we could understand him and welcome him into our hearts.
Is there room for God, for our Saviour in the inn? in the inn of your life? If not, what or who else could satisfy the longings of your heart? Many many people crave for peace of heart, for hope in despair, for joy in their distress. God made us for himself and restless shall we wander until we find Him, know Him and love Him.
Christmas is now with us. Its external lights and music have started long ago ďż˝ far too early, driven by the commercial world. This glare fails to satisfy and ends like a balloon that bursts.
My wish for all of you is that the real mystery of Christmas, the divine Child in the crib, God with us, may warm your hearts with a glow that does not fizzle out in the first or second day of Christmas. Make room for the Child in your heart and home and you will have a lasting friend.
May this holy Season bring you peace and may its gentle glow warm your heart, strengthen your mind and give you hope now and in the New Year.
I wish you all a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas.
Philip Boyce, O.C.D.
Bishop of Raphoe
Joint message from Bishop Joseph Duffy, the Catholic Bishop of Clogher and Bishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher
"When the time came ...."
How often have we heard people say this as they look back over something about which they are reminiscing or when they are taking stock of what has happened? The thing they're talking about might have gone well or not so well, but very often the story begins with this phrase: "When the time came ..."
Another Christmas gives us the opportunity to look back over what has happened and at the same time to look into the future and what might yet happen. At Christmas the Christmas story itself is our starting point. When the time came, God entered the world where those who might have been expected to know him did not accept him. Those who did receive him became children of God in a new and different way. When the time came, Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to register in a census of the Roman Empire. When the time came, the child was born and acknowledged as the Son of God by shepherds and kings alike. And again, when the time came, the parents and the child fled to Egypt because it was no longer safe for any of them to be in Bethlehem. At every point in this story when the time came, a decision is made and something new happens. God comes to earth. Those who hear the story become part of it and are reacting all the time to the fact that God is present in a new way. In this way the story becomes our history.
Today the Christmas story is told in a world of spiritual erosion. There is great anxiety about a loss of the sacred, about a slow drift into emptiness where life may be relatively painless and comfortable but ultimately without meaning. It is a world which has not learned the terrible lessons of war, where national and international leaders continue to ignore massive poverty and the exploitation of millions of people. It is a world where voluntary effort looks like nothing more than the ripples left after a stone has fallen to the bed of the sea. Locally we live in a world where we all need to take greater care on the roads. We need a responsible use of alcohol at all times and particularly over the Christmas period.
And let us remember in a way that is hope-filled, that when the time came, the Child of Bethlehem championed the faithful individual person. His sense of justice and compassion combined teaches us a new way of knowing and loving our neighbour. The challenge of Christmas 2007 is to follow in this way and to do these things when the time comes.
Joseph Duffy Michael Jackson
topChristmas is a time for celebration, a time for getting together, especially as family, a time for giving and receiving. It is a time for which everybody prepares: the commercial world has been preparing for it since September; the music world has been promoting it in various ways, particularly in regard to the top of the charts and the homes and streets bear the marks of a People in festive mood.
Well may we be in festive mood because Christmas, each year, reminds us of the stupendous fact that God became one of us in the Child of Bethlehem. He became one of us out of love, a love without limit or end. The secular world may attempt to remove all semblance of God and His love in this festive season but it cannot cancel the fact that the encounter of God with mankind in the Person of the Child Jesus, renewed each time we celebrate Christmas, has changed the destiny of the world. Each one, no matter who she or he is, no matter what status they have in life, is called to be part of God's family and to live with Him forever, for all eternity, in love and peace. This is the reason for celebrating Christmas. We are all made one, brother and sister in Jesus Christ and we are called to treat each other as such.
Recently the events which have made headlines in the media in this country would make one shudder with fear and apprehension; the violence and the murders, the carnage on our roads and the frightful reality of the world of drug pushing and drug taking, of alcohol abuse and binge drinking. Young lives are being put at risk every day, every night and families are afflicted with great and inconsolable grief. It is into this reality, this year that the Child Jesus comes at Christmas. What difference will His coming make? None whatsoever unless each person, each family decides to take the Christmas Message to heart. The decorating of the homes and streets is to no useful purpose unless the way is made open, in the heart of every human person, to the coming of the Saviour, to the love He has for each one. We must say loud and clear: STOP! before it is too late! Beautiful young lives are being disfigured, maimed and destroyed because others wish to profit from them. As our President has said: "If there was no market for drugs, there would be no drug addicts or drug pushers". Christmas gives us the opportunity to come to our senses and to do all in our power to become once more a healthy, God-loving and God-fearing people.
May this Christmas be for every home, every parent, every family a time of joy and happiness, a time of love and fulfillment, a time of healing and reconciliation. May the Child of Bethlehem, together with His Mother and foster-father Saint Joseph be welcomed at every hearth and every table and may we discover again the beauty and mystery of the Emmanuel ďż˝ the God-with-us, so that we can truly sing in our hearts: "Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to those who are in God's favour."
John Magee
topMy dear friends,
In this Christmas season I extend a warm greeting to you and your family. I offer special greetings to those spending their first Christmas in this diocese. We all think of family members overseas and keep them in our prayers. Wherever your family members find themselves this Christmas, may it be for all of us a time of blessing and peace.
This year in the diocese we are focusing on the message of peace that is at the heart of Christmas. In our Christmas liturgies we proclaim Christ as the bringer of peace, we know him as the true light of the world, the "light that darkness could not overpower" (John 1:5).
This Christmas message is so important to us because there are times when we don't have a sense of true peace in our lives. We can feel overshadowed by worries and difficulties. Even in the midst of a busy world, we can feel alone.
It is into this world that the Lord has come. The humble manger scene reveals God's love for us in all its powerful simplicity. Each Christmas, we take great heart that whatever the darkness of our winter nights, the Lord provides true solace, a new dawn.
At the beginning of Advent, we were very happy as a diocese to launch an awareness campaign called "Need to Talk?" This initiative is an expression of our care for the whole community. It is based on a concern, reflected in many studies, that all too often people experiencing a personal crisis do not avail of any professional help. Our message is that asking for help is a real strength.
As a Christian community, we are called to reflect the healing and hope that the Lord offers to us. The liturgy and prayer of the Church are invaluable supports for us as we encounter the inevitable trials of life.
The Christian vision of life is well expressed in the great prayer of St Francis which begins 'Lord, make me an instrument of your peace'. While the prayer speaks of injury, doubt, despair, darkness, sadness there is a wonderful sense that with the Lord's help pardon, faith, hope, light and joy are still possible.
There is a real need in today's society not to measure who we are in the narrow terms of success and failure. Not to condemn ourselves all too quickly as somehow being beyond redemption.
One of the great strengths of our Church is that we embrace the truth that we move through different seasons in our lives. The yearly cycle of our liturgies helps us to find this deeper harmony. Each Christmas we rejoice in the new beginning of Bethlehem.
I pray for all that the grace of the Christmas message will brighten our lives, renew our faith and strengthen our bonds of friendship. May the Peace of Christ dwell in our hearts.
James Moriarty
topThe airwaves and the newspaper columns will be filled this Christmas with the words "Peace" and "The Peace Process". And we all thank God that after all those years, those wasted years, of futile conflict and destructive violence we do have peace on our streets. But those years of conflict have left a litany of thousands of broken hearts and broken homes and deep searing wounds to be healed.
For so many the Christmas lights will not shatter the darkness clouding their lives, the Christmas bells will not echo in their hearts. Their cry, their plea, might well be "Who really cares about us?" The answer is: Christ does with his consoling words "Come to me all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you".
For hearts struggling to find an inner peace he says: "Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give". This is Christ's gift offered to each one of us but most especially offered to those who are struggling to find peace in their hearts.
"The Peace Process" must now lead to "The Peace Progress", progress in the building of a truly human society in our country, built on the four pillars of peace ďż˝ truth, justice, love, freedom. This progress will be arduous and challenging for there are still deep divisions in our society but despite the divisions which are still so very evident many of our elected representatives in the Assembly and in Councils are making honest efforts to rise above party political allegiances so as to work for the common good, the good of all people and not just for the good of "my community".
But this work of "The Peace Progress" must be the concern of us all, of each one of us in our own small sphere of influence, beginning in our own home, on our own street, in our own workplace. We must all play our part for there is so much at stake, so great a prize now to be grasped and fastened upon, to ensure a brighter future for our children as we emerge from the darkness of the past which has blighted the lives of two or three generations who knew not peace.
To make progress now in peace is a challenge to all but above all a challenge to all who profess to follow Christ, whose birth is heralded by the great company of angels in their exultant song of peace. Christmas is the Feast of Peace. Christ is the Prince of Peace. He is our peace.
Patrick Walsh
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