Christmas Message from Bishop Denis Wiehe of the Diocese of Port Victoria-‘May hope and joy be yours at Christmas’ |24 December 2008
“What has come into being in Christ was life,
Life that was the light of humankind;
And light shines in darkness,
And darkness could not overpower it.”
(John 1,4)
“There are many shadows and there is much darkness in the world today.
“There are many doubts about our future and there is much darkness also in each of us, deep down in our souls.
“However, as St. John reminds us in the first verses of his Gospel, in this darkness, the light of Christmas shines forth. Not the bright and flashy lights of the shops and on the trees, but the soft yet powerful light of the child in the manger.
“Every Christian family should place a crib in the family home. And we should gather around it as a family to pray and place our frailties and our darkness before the child Jesus, before Mary and Joseph. From the manger the sure light of hope shines forth. No power on earth can overpower this hope, for it brings the light and the strength of love in our hearts, in our family and in our society.
“The light and hope of Christmas are for everybody, for each person of faith and goodwill, no matter what his or her condition or human situation.
“On the 19th December, it was a great privilege for me to celebrate Christmas mass at Montagne Posée Prison with the inmates, the prison staff and a group of friends who had come for the occasion. There was no crib in the room, but one of the inmates, an artist, had drawn a wonderful picture of the crib on the blackboard.
During this mass as we prayed and sang and heard once again the wonderful story and message from St. Luke’s Gospel, it was as if the light which had shone on the shepherds at the first Christmas was shining down on us now. A new hope and a new light were coming to each person of goodwill present there.
“And we were reminded: “In prison your freedom as a citizen maybe curtailed for a time because of your wrongdoing, but no one has the right – ever - to take away your human dignity.” That is the light shining in the darkness this Christmas on Montagne Posée.
God did not spurn to take on our human nature. Indeed He desired with great desire to take it on. And in so doing, the human condition gained a nobility and a value beyond any reckoning. Because of the child in the manger, because of the Incarnation (‘the Eternal Word was made flesh’), each and every human person no matter what his or her condition, has an absolute value before God. The message of Christmas is a message of respect for the dignity of each person. That is why deep down Christmas has such an impact all over the world.
“This was brought home to me in a special way a couple of years ago when I went to Coetivy to celebrate Christmas with the workers of the shrimp farm and the inhabitants of the island. There is a small chapel on this island and it had been decorated by each group of workers: Filipino, Sri Lankan, Malagasy, Seychellois, and others. Because there was no room in the chapel, a large crib had been set up just outside. We prayed before the crib and we celebrated in the small chapel, united by the message of peace and love of Christmas.
“There are unfortunately too many things which divide us in society and in the world: religion and politics, wealth and social status, philosophical ideologies and excessive nationalism, etc., and even sport! These divisions bring the darkness of suspicion, anger, deviousness, false pride, the desire for power and wealth, hatred and violence to our human relationships.
“It is refreshing on the contrary when we are able to meet, over and above what divides us, in a sincere and respectful atmosphere where openness and dialogue are sought after; where we feel secure so that we can say what we truly feel and where we are able to share so many things that we have in common. It was refreshing for example to come together as believers of different denominations on Saturday 13th December at the Stad Popiler to sing and to pray together.
“The Christmas message is a message of unity and peace: ‘Peace to every person on earth.’ We must seek this peace deep down in our hearts and we must work unceasingly for greater understanding and unity in our society. When we are sincere and of goodwill the light shines forth in the darkness of our world, a light which brings hope and joy to all. May they be yours at Christmas this year.”