CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2005

Food distribution among the squatters ended with a little girl receiving only a banana which she received with smiling gratitude. Having received the banana, the girl ran towards a little tent among the piles of garbage. Two younger brothers were waiting for her. She divided the one banana between the two; for herself she scraped the peelings of the banana and ate it. This is story converted an atheistic journalist that covered the event. In the midst of poverty and misery, life even among the squatters was shot through with love and care.

A little boy had his eyes fixed on a pair of slippers in the department store. He had no cover for his feet. A young man who happened to watch him invited the poor boy inside the store and had a pair of rubber slippers fitted to his naked feet. The surprised boy could not understand the action of the unknown benefactor who merely explained to him: "This season we celebrate the birth of Jesus our Savior. That is his gift to you. Merry Christmas! "When they parted, the poor boy shouted back to the young man: "Hey, Sir, wait! Are you Jesus? Are you Jesus?" In the midst of multiple crises in our country, economic, political, social problems, this simple story contains a saving grace. I hope this story will be multiplied not only this Christmas season, but through the coming year. The power of love is stronger than the power of evil. No crisis is so great it cannot be solved with God. In the midst of misery and problems, life is shot through with sharing and sacrificing love.

We can transform our country through servant-leadership, whose core-trait is serving the people with integrity of heart, credible life-style and accountable and transparent disposition of resources.

Our work for peace and order will not only be a gift of the Savior to us but also our gift to the Savior and to one another.
 

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

December 9, 2005