Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:2).
Once again this year, Divine Providence grants us the grace to celebrate CHRISTMAS, the feast of Emmanuel, “God-with-us”, an event of joy and hope for all mankind. At the end of a year marked by political tensions and multifaceted personal, family and social difficulties, we are invited to the annual celebration of the birth of the Son of Mary, the Son of the Most High, the Saviour of mankind. Our children’s nativity scenes and the festive atmosphere throughout the town bear witness to the fact that we are celebrating an event of great importance: Christmas.
Today the Light has dawned, “a sign of hope for the entire human family”, said Saint John Paul II.
“A sign of love and comfort for those who feel alone and abandoned”. Even today, Love is taking the first steps and inviting us to this dialogue of love with God, just as it was foreseen in the beginning… God is among us, he became flesh, he came among his own… And his own did not receive him…
What about us… What about us… Marshallans did we receive him? The question remains.
Let’s go back to Saint John’s Prologue and let ourselves be carried away by these words of love that we find particularly in the Gospel, but also in Saint John’s letters.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. What was made in him was life, and life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not received it….(Jn 1 :1-5)
But to all who received him, he gave the power to become children of God.” (Jn 1:12)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Today, God’s word has been transformed into a human being, and that is what we are celebrating… Christmas.
And Saint John adds:
‘This is what was from the beginning, which we have heard, and our eyes have seen, and our hands have felt – I speak of the Word who is life’ (1Jn 1:1).
‘We have seen and we affirm that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world; and if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God’ (1Jn 4:14-15).
Dear Marshallan Brothers and Sisters, may we be attentive to the message of the crib: Jesus, weak and fragile, is the sign of hope, peace and joy. Let us cultivate these virtues in ourselves and for our countries, so that we can continue to forge ahead in the fight against the one-sided, one-track thinking that seeks to remove God from human existence.
For where God has no place, man also loses his.
Finally, we entrust the Noble Order and each of our families to the protection of Her who did God’s will in all things. May Mary, Our Lady, watch over us and always intercede for us with her newborn son.
To all of you dear Brothers and Sisters, we wish you a Merry Christmas.
God bless us all.
Sir Kt. Bro. Richard Ayih-Akakpo MRL Sis Patricia Dunenye
Supreme Knight Grand Lady