Dear parishioners and friends on behalf the Fathers I wish you all:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!
Buon Natale e
Felice Anno Nuovo
Christmas for us assumes as specific color this year
particularly after the catastrophic effects brought by super-typhoon
Haiyan-Yolanda. However Christmas brings always a message of Hope and Love for
all of us. ”God makes all things new” someone repeated during the Mass
celebrated at the end of November by Cardinal Tagle in the Cathedral of Palo
destroyed by the typhoon and without roof. This is our faith.
Christmas celebration reminds us of the greatest gift of the
Father for us: Jesus and the Son of God brings true and lasting joy to
us. Pope Francis in his latest document ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ says:
“the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and lives of all who encounter Jesus.
With Christ joy is constantly born anew…. Whenever our interior life becomes
caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for
others, no place for the poor… on the other hand being a Christian is
the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a
decisive direction… For if we have received the love which restores meaning to
our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?”.
We are called to live and share this love and hope brought
by the Jesus here in the reality of Tondo even though at times we might be
tempted to give up because we feel overwhelmed by the many problems, frustrated
by our failures or lukewarm response.
Honestly I have already seen the love and joy of Jesus
present among us in the good will and commitment of a lot of leaders - lay
people working generously in the different ministries of the parish and I am
grateful for this. On the other hand we are challenged by our Pope to go out,
to be “evangelizers” among those who are far from the church, and
here in Tondo we have a lot of people who are oftentimes not just materially
poor but also spiritually hungry and the ‘food’ they find around is neither
healthy nor giver of real joy.
We have started the ambitious project of the new church
and, thanks to the Divine Providence and the endeavor of a lot of people we are
making progress but we are still far from seeing our dream come true! So we
ought to continue with our effort. As we approach the New Year let’s
renew our faith in Jesus and our commitment and surely we will progress
together.
Thanks for your support and generous help; be sure of my
prayer that the Lord might grant you good health, prosperity and serenity in
the New Year.
- Fr. Carlo
