My best wishes and those of the sisters of the General Government. May Joy and Peace come to all those who form part of the Hospitaller Community.
Message to all of the HOSPITALLER COMMUNITY. Christmas 2019
Bearers of the Good News …
… of Hospitality
A Bolivian woman with her child! This is the image I have chosen this year to convey my best wishes and those of the sisters of the General Government. May Joy and Peace come to all those who form part of the Hospitaller Community: the sick, co-workers, family members, volunteers, benefactors and sisters. ¡FELICES FIESTAS DE NAVIDAD! MERRY CHRISTMAS, JOYEUX NOËL, BUON NATALE, FELIZ NATAL.
We are once again approaching Christmas! Almost everywhere in the world and in a very natural way, this time is a feast of joy and light, of family get-togethers and friendship, gifts and sharing in solidarity. For the Christian people, this festivity especially celebrates the birth of Jesus, God made man (cf. Jn 1:14), and “so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him”.
The contemplation of this mystery in the creative Christmas crèches that at this time of year appear in the different hospital facilities, houses, churches, communities and public places, is a call to reflect on “the responsibility of every Christian to spread the Gospel. Each of us is called to bear glad tidings to all, testifying by our practical works of mercyto the joy of knowing Jesus and his love”.
While respecting the diversity of the great Hospitaller Community that we form together, I take the liberty to invite us to “bear glad tidings to all”. For those of us who identify with the Christian faith, the “glad tidings are Jesus”, God “who became a child in order to make us know how close he is to every man, woman and child, regardless of their condition”. For those of you who have other beliefs or philosophies of life, the call is to be the bearers of the peace, good, solidarity and compassion that dwell in the human heart.
Whatever our experience, as members of the Hospitaller Community we are all invited to be bearers of Hospitality with our words and gestures, in our service and encounters, in our being by the side of those who are sick or suffering; like “the Samaritan, we do not walk on by: we look at and we see; we let ourselves be moved and take action, in a spirit of compassion and solidarity”
