It is wonderful how the birth of Jesus which we are celebrating this month has impacted and still affects our society today.

Thanks to that birth so many of us have found solace in solitude, comfort in hardship and have experienced joy in a society of glittery emptiness.  Many of us have found purpose and orientation for life and hope for a life hereafter.

Thanks to that birth, today we have priests, monks, nuns and laity who give up on so many things in life in order to serve. They gather us daily in prayer, in thanksgiving, in the forgiving of sins, in reflection, in discernment and in the sharing of His body which binds us as one.

We have people who voluntarily give their time to prepare couples to have a stronger marriage. We have people who teach our children and youngsters about a happier more fulfilled philosophy to life. We have people who visit the sick and benefactors who support Church institutions to provide food, shelter and medicine in different parts of the world.  We have churches where we can meet to thank God and share so many things as a community in faith.

Thanks to the birth of that Child a Church was born which has been teaching a creationist perspective to life,  the right way to live for the good of humanity and which has sought to bring an altruistic, loving, forgiving, God abiding, fair and just way of living. A Church which still tries to make its voice heard in defending the unborn, the poor, the marginalised, those who are suffering an injustice or are hard hit in tragedy and disaster.

Thanks to that birth, God’s gifts and talents to humanity were manifested in great works of music, art, science and architecture. Thanks to that birth we have had so many great people who were inspired by the teachings and philosophy of Christ and who have lived an exemplary life, opened schools, universities, hospitals and incalculable support institutions.

From the beginning there were those who did not believe, did not agree and who did their best to ridicule the teaching and discredit the supernatural dimension of this event.  There were times where in good or bad faith wrong decisions seem to have been taken. But the message from that birth was and still is for the good of humanity.

Then there were those of goodwill who saw the vision and understood the cause and who  believed and felt the need to work for the glory of God, the love of Christ, the good of the Church and society through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and did so much good to society.

May we in this Christmas season realise this gift to humanity and celebrate it in this spirit.