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JOINT CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE BISHOPS OF CLOGHER
With the approach of Christmas we offer you again our joint reflection on the extraordinary gift we share as followers of Jesus Christ and on the difference this gift makes in our lives.
It's not easy these days to translate the language of faith into life. How often we say: "Nothing can be done about it" or "You cannot change the world", or "You must be practical and put up with it". When we go on like this, we have ceased to believe in the power of God. We have ceased to be people who are really convinced that the good news we read about in the Bible has come to pass in the person of Jesus.
It's highly significant for us who have been born into the Christian faith that in Nazareth, the home town of Jesus, there was no faith in him and for that reason no healing took place there. Elsewhere in Galilee people were healed and cured, evil spirits were cast out and lepers were cleansed. In these places he invoked the power of God because they were convinced that he could do this. He did this not to prove anything but to help people in suffering by his great love and compassion.
Very often the healing miracles of Jesus went beyond physical and psychological illness and into the deeper spiritual areas of human nature. He himself called this kind of healing forgiveness. When he spoke of forgiving he meant releasing people from the weight of their past and all the deep-seated feelings of guilt that go with what we call conscience and morality. Again the key to the process was their conviction that this liberation was possible and their willingness to let it happen. From the power of faith flow both the power to heal and the power to forgive. The moment a person is convinced that forgiveness is possible and desires it, God's power to forgive becomes effective and that person's life is transformed.
Jesus spent his whole life encouraging and enabling this healing of body and spirit. Those who were touched by him experienced and retained profound memories of relief, joy, gratitude and love. There can be no doubt that people were uplifted by Jesus and in his company felt completely safe and secure. For Jesus not only healed and forgave those who sought his help; he also dispelled their fears and relieved them of their worries. To them his very presence was an incomparable gift.
Christmas is the celebration of this gift. Let's share it.
| +Joseph Duffy | +Brian Hannon |
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