Dear friends of the Canossian family,
I am happy to reach all of you with greetings full of gratitude and affection for your presence and your witness in daily life.
In this time, marked by uncertainty and precariousness for the future, we all carry in our hearts the need for true and lasting hope, the desire for a light that defeats the darkness of the worries that surround us, sometimes stealing our serenity.
“This Light is a Baby, sent by God for us!”
We are all called to make our own the experience of the shepherds to whom it was said:
“Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today a Saviour has been born to you.” Lk 2:10
It is a simple, intimate joy, which is also present in moments of suffering and fatigue.
I wish you a holy Christmas, spent within the joy of your family without forgetting those who are poorest and committing yourselves to finding ways of being present to their needs.
Together with you, I ask the Lord to give us eyes of faith in order to recognize in the God-Child the Light and Salvation prepared by Him for all.
I entrust to Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, your desires and hopes and those of all humanity, so that every man and woman may live in peace and justice.
A Blessed Christmas and a Holy New Year to all, with joy and a grateful heart!