Greetings to you, all in your community, your colleagues, collaborators, and all those entrusted to your care. Have a grace- filled month of December.
Significantly, on the first day of the month we begin the Season
of Advent which is also for us in the Catholic Church, the beginning of our New Liturgical Year! The Gospel for the day ( Lk 21:25ff) reminds us to Stay Awake “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”May this holy season of Advent be a time of renewal for a meaningful preparation for Christmas and for a hope – filled future!Also, importantly, the first Sunday of Advent every year is designated by the CCBI as Communio Sunday, on which we are all invited to express our solidarity with the missionary Church in India through prayer, sacrifices and generosity.
It is the Jubilee Year 2025!As boldly proclaimed in the opening words of Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction, ‘Spes non confundit. Hope does not disappoint, ‘hope is the unifying theme of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025. The Jubilee Year begins with the traditional opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on December 24, 2024, by Pope Francis and continues until the closing of the Holy Door on January 6, 2026, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. During that time, the Pope calls on us to embark on a pilgrimage of hope together, so that, “Through our witness, may hope spread to all those who anxiously seek it. May the way we live our lives say to them in so many words: ‘Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!'” (Ps 27:14).
In his papal bull, the Pope Francis alsowrote, “My thoughts turn to all those‘pilgrims of hope’ who will travel to Romein order to experience the Holy Year and toall those others who, though unable to visitthe City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, willcelebrate it in their local Churches.” As PopeFrancis points out, we don’t have to travel toRome to participate: dioceses and parishesacross the world will mark the Jubilee withpilgrimages, Masses, and other specialevents throughout the year.I urge you all tobe prepared and participate prayerfully andactively in the Jubilee year programmes,whenever an opportunity arrives.As wepray for Pope Francis let us payparticular attention to his Prayer Intentionfor December 2024: For pilgrims of hope-We pray that this Jubilee Year strengthenour faith, helping us to recognise the RisenChrist in our daily lives, and that it maytransform us into pilgrims of Christian hope.
St Francis Xavier is special to us in India. We celebrate him on 3 December. He is the patron Saint of our country and of the missions. He did so much to bring the person and message of Jesus to India and other parts of Asia. At this moment, his mortal remains are exposed in Goa with thousands going to venerate him. Let us pray to him that he may inspire our missionary endeavours in every way possible. Wish you all a Happy Feast of St. Francis Xavier, particularly to the Pilar fathers and sisters working in our Archdiocese.
We celebrate Mary our mother throughout this month of December. It was her unconditional and wholehearted “yes” to the will of God that ensured the birth of our Saviour. In particular we celebrate her on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (8 December) (Happy Feast to the SMMI Sisters), on the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto(10December), on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (12 December), which is special for all indigenous peoples and specially for us in our Archdiocese
We pray to St. Joseph who so lovingly tookcare of Mary inspite of there being no placein the inn, and of Mary and Jesus in theirflight to Egypt The Feast of the HolyInnocents (28 December) is an occasionto rememberthe millionsof childreneverywhere, who are victims of war, ofabuse, neglect, rejection, exploitation,trafficking, and child labour. The Feast ofthe Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, andJoseph (29 December) is another invitationto celebrate the sanctity and importance ofthe family and of family values of love,acceptance,sharing,caring, togetherness! Encourage families topray – to say the daily rosary. May the HolyFamily of Nazareth be our role model,through this Christmas Season and always!We also celebrate the feast of the firstmartyr St Stephen (26 December) and ofthe beloved disciple St. John (27December). May each of these days be atime of renewal for us and for the deepeningof our commitment to humanity particularlyto the last, the least and the lost!
Among the International observances this month are World Aids Day (1 December), International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (2 December), the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), Anti-Corruption Day (9 December), Human Rights Day (10 December), International Migrants Day (18 December) (20 December). (9 December) All important reminders that we all have much more to be doing in our world today, in order to be authentic witnesses of his mission and as pilgrims of hope.
Remember we all have a responsibility to read, pray over, internalise, and actualisethe final report of the Synodal process. We have an obligation to make our Synodal journey of communion, participation, and mission a real one in the lives of those we are called to serve.
Let us continue to pray very fervently for Pope Francis, especially on his birthday (17 December), for the Universal Church, the Church in India and specially for the Church in Gujarat. Let us pray for peace all over the world: in Manipur, in Palestine and Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine and everywhere else where there is war and conflict, hate and violence. May Christmas be a time for joy, peace and harmony for our broken country and world!
Here’s wishing you and all every blessing of this Christmas Season! May our new- born Saviour Jesus and his gifts of joy, love, hope, fraternity, justice, and peace be with you and all today and every day of the New Year 2025.
Pray for me and our Archdiocese Happy Christmas to ALL!With my prayers and blessings!
Copyright 2024 Archdiocese of Gandhinagar. All Rights Reserved by McWIN iTECH
