Volunteers at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Honolulu prepare to distribute free food to persons in need Dec. 30 in the church parking lot. They passed out 150 bags, assisting 50 families and individuals. The next distribution is Jan. 16. (Photo courtesy of Sts. Peter and Paul Church)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“God came among us in poverty and need, to tell us that in serving the poor, we will show our love for him.” (Pope Francis, Christmas Eve homily)
Stargazers around the world were blessed this holiday season to witness the rare astronomical event of Jupiter and Saturn moving closer together in alignment, known as the “Great Conjunction.” Many believe this so-called “Christmas Star” was similar to the phenomenon seen by the Magi at Jesus’ birth. Yet with such a magnificent symbol in the sky to mark the birth of a king, one might wonder: Why was our Savior born in a humble stable, in a lowly manger? Pope Francis answered this in his Christmas Eve homily: “That manger, poor in everything, yet rich in love, teaches that the true nourishment in life comes from letting ourselves be loved by God and loving others in turn.”
Our Holy Father believes the manger holds an important lesson for all of us, noting that “Bethlehem means House of Bread in Hebrew.” And just as the Son of God came to feed the world from a manger, so have many volunteers come forth in different ways to help feed hungry families at community food distributions. In this spirit of giving, he offered a Christmas eve prayer: “May the Child of Bethlehem help us, then, to be generous, supportive and helpful, especially towards those who are vulnerable, the sick, those unemployed or experiencing hardship due to the economic effects of the pandemic.”
In his annual Urbi et Orbi message to the whole world on Christmas day, Pope Francis said, “At Christmas we celebrate the light of Christ who comes into the world; he comes for everyone, not just for some. Today, in this time of darkness and uncertainty regarding the pandemic, various lights of hope appear, such as the discovery of vaccines. But for these lights to illuminate and bring hope to all, they need to be available to all … This Child, Jesus, was born ‘to us’: an ‘us’ without any borders, privileges or exclusions.”
God came into the world as a child to make us all children of God, “brothers and sisters all,” repeating a theme of his recent papal encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.” “Thanks to this Child, all of us can speak to God and call him Father … we can all call one another brothers and sisters, for so we truly are.”
Our Holy Father calls us to remember the most vulnerable among us, including migrants and refugees, who, like the Holy Family, have been forced to flee their homes. “In the face of a challenge that knows no borders, we cannot erect walls. All of us are in the same boat. Every other person is my brother or my sister. In everyone, I see reflected the face of God, and in those who suffer, I see the Lord pleading for my help. I see him in the sick, the poor, the unemployed, the marginalized, the migrant and the refugee: brothers and sisters all!”
Pope Francis has previously expressed this theme many times, as he did in the prayer on this year’s holiday card from the Vatican Section on Migrants and Refugees. “The arrival of those who are different, coming from other ways of life and cultures, can be a gift — the other in our midst is a gift that draws out of us our gifts that we were given to be gifts for others. May our encounter with migrants like our encounter with Emmanuel, God with us, transform our lives and deepen our humanity.”
For more on Pope Francis’ Christmas season messages, and ways to show our love for God in serving with the poor, please visit our website, officeforsocialministry.org. Let us end this year with the closing Christmas prayer of Pope Francis focused on the importance of family and hope for all becoming one human ohana.
“May Christmas be an opportunity for all of us to rediscover the family as a cradle of life and faith, a place of acceptance and love, dialogue, forgiveness, fraternal solidarity and shared joy, a source of peace for all humanity.”
We pray that all experience Emmanuel’s love this holiday season by sharing the light of Christ with our brothers and sisters all!
Mahalo and Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
