LET THE WORD BECOME FLESH INTO OUR HEARTS: A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF THE COMBONI MISSIONARIES

“She gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn” – Lk 2,7

“Mary was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love. She is the little servant of the Father who gasps with the joy of praise”. (EG, 286)

Dear confreres,

We greet you fraternally, as we feel we are in communion with all the Church which is now preparing to live Holy Christmas, celebrating the Incarnation of the Son of God.

The liturgy in the time of Advent presents us with such referential figures as: Mary, St. Joseph, the Prophets, John the Baptist, the anawim who believed in the prayer of Israel: “Send victory like a dew, you heavens and let the clouds rain it down; Let the earth open for salvation to spring up. Let deliverance, too, spring up” (Is 45,8) sending us the Messiah.

The Fathers of the Church remind us that God wanted to assume our human nature so that we would become like him. This wonderful exchange becomes a motive for eternal gratitude and urges us to proclaim him to the ends of the earth.

At the end of this year in which we have celebrated 150 years since the birth of our Institute, we wish to hold firm in our missionary commitment in the peripheries of the world, renewing our consecration, re-qualifying our presence and our missionary commitment and invigorating our desire to witness what the incarnate Word continues to do in our lives, convinced that it will bring happiness to the people we meet in our daily journey and activities.

We are invited to be ever more open to the work of his Grace, making our hearts into grottos where the Word, become flesh, may dwell and show itself in our thoughts, words and actions. This is the real treasure that we receive as a gift at Christmas and which we are ready to share especially with the little ones, the needy, the excluded, the marginalised and the most abandoned who are often forgotten by our society.

As the 2015 Chapter reminds us, we are called to be joyful proclaimers of the Gospel and witnesses to the God who continues to show himself in our midst.

Come Lord Jesus, Maranathà. Happy Christmas 2017!

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

Comboni missionaries