‘’A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Emmanuel’’. “God is with us’’ Mathew 2:23.
I bring you special greetings, well wishes and peaceful Yuletide.
This is the time that most of us are feverishly preparing for the joyous moments with our families, friends and associates. The season offers us opportunity to reconcile and reunite with our families and friends and to undertake activities that satisfy our needs such as search for good food, beautiful clothes, attractive bodies in the beauty pallor and refurnishing our homes to meet the demands of the society.
Far from that, Christian organizations like the Noble Order of the Ladies of Marshall must envisage the period of Advent as time for preparation for the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ, in humanity as our brother and savior and in divinity as our God.
In this context, it is a period for us to reflect on the Virgin Mary’s singular role in God’s plan for our salvation since Mary’s womb became the shelter of Jesus from all earthly troubles. Mary also suffered by lodging a rental manger at Bethlehem to give birth to our Lord Jesus Christ. She thus humiliated herself as a lactating mother and monitored Jesus as a baby under all threats of the society to the time of death of Christ
The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ to us Christians, teaches us lessons: “Closing the gap’’ between God and humanity as well as stewardship by which God shared his life with us.
The Advent, nativity and incarnation further teach us lessons of humility which our mother Mary exhibited for us to emulate.
My dear Sisters, the miracle of the incarnation, ‘the word became flesh and dwelt among us’, which we celebrate, require us Marshallans to be united in love and similarly render our love to God .Our love to one another and to God must be seen in our gifts of forgiveness, tolerance and respect for one another .The season must help us therefore to learn to share our lives, wealth and time with others as well as to be humble in all spheres of life. We must strive to have proper inward examination of our lives, fast and show acts of charity. We must learn more about the Church, pray, read and meditate on the Bible and show concern for the poor and socially deprived.
In our strive to live in peaceful and harmonious conditions with each other and our neighbors, devoid of pride, arrogance and selfishness, we shall be adequately prepared to meet Jesus Christ when he appears .
As we celebrate Christmas and New Year, let us impact on the lives of the people that the season is the birth of a great ‘’man’’, the apple of God’s eye, God’s only begotten son, who is our strength and our hope.
Our encounter during the season must therefore create greater opportunities for us Roman Catholic Marshallans to reach our heights spiritually.
May the New Born King of Peace find place in our hearts, may Mother Mary intercede on our behalf and may the Holy Family be our divine protector during the Christmas festivities and grant us prosperous New Year.