Hello, my brothers and sisters. I’d like to share with you a brief message about Christmas.

A people walked in darkness and God came to them as light. He did so, becoming one of them, not only becoming a weak and defenseless child, but beyond that, experiencing their marginalization, their being cast out, because there was no place in the inn for them. God chose to be born into this situation. Those to whom he first revealed himself were not the dignified and honored persons of his society, but the poor, those with no name, those considered among the lowliest of the low. He revealed himself just to people like that, the shepherds.
Some 2000 years have passed and yet we continue to be surrounded by such darkness, guided by the light who is Christ. As Saint Leo the Great, the Pope in 440, reminded all Christians in Rome: “Christmas is not so much something of the past, even if our most recent past, but something for today and something for us now.” Do we allow the Christ Child to be our guide when we are lost? Is the Christ our strength when we are weak? Do we look for God’s protection when we feel abandoned? Is God, the Christ, our source of peace, when we feel battered and torn by conflict in our lives? Christmas invites us to deepen our trust in the Lord, who is our light.
Our Vincentian tradition invites us to take a place with the God who lives among the marginalized. We are called to follow Jesus, the Christ, evangelizing and serving the poor.
I want to wish each and every one of you, my brothers and sisters of the Vincentian Family, a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with peace, joy, justice and love, one for another and for the poor. And from all of us here at the Curia a very Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.