Advent Message

We are living in a time that is so hectic that everyone would like to take advantage of it, including the path of faith. Some of us believed that we are on the right path towards a normal life. Alas, this is not the case. Everything is starting again, in name of OMICRON. What should we do? Let us not be afraid, let us believe in the Good News, for our God of goodness and mercy is alive.

We started this year 2021 with St. Joseph and St. Family. Very recently, the Holy Father invited us to participate actively in the synod on synodality, giving our opinions, thoughts and ideas, so that the universal Church can dream with each member of the people of God.  You know that the proposals of the universal Church, and those of our diocese, including our parish, will help us to participate in a concrete way.  Be attentive and compassionate.

How will we live this important time? What are the interior and exterior initiatives that we will choose, to better live this time offered? This time is a time of joyful waiting with an eschatological hope. We are all pilgrims, walking on the path of holiness, which leads us to the Father. In this journey, every moment is important and every encounter is nourishing.

For this time to be profitable, instead of making many resolutions and initiatives that we cannot honour, I invite you to choose a personal and interior initiative, an initiative for the health of our soul.  We heard it well in the Gospel of Matthew, "As you enter the house, greet those who live in it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. If it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  (Matth. 10, 12-13) Very often we are not at peace and joyful. First of all let us seek inner peace and let our hearts be joyful. For this, let us try to have a real encounter with Jesus, who dwells in the depths of our being. If time permits, go to meet him in the Blessed Sacrament, especially by participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The Advent season also gives us the opportunity for another encounter with Christ, not as an all-powerful king, but in the little child in the manger, abandoned by the rich and powerful of the world. To do this, we must know how to leave our place of security and go to the periphery, where the Lord sends us and awaits us.

Our personal initiative has a purpose, the salvation of the world, our union with the Father and the coming of his Kingdom. So our inner initiative leads to an outer initiative for the health of society, including the church and the family. What is this action that you will choose for the health, including the spiritual health of your family, or your parish, that will ensure good health for society.  The feast of the birth of Christ that we are preparing," says Pope Francis, "is not out of step with the trials we are going through because it is the quintessence of compassion, the feast of tenderness. Its beauty is humble and full of human warmth. May our preparations help us to shine in the darkness, to give hope to the hopeless and to live our faith with joy in our troubled times. God bless you all and I wish you a meaningful preparation.