Church leaders locally are asking you to remember those less fortunate this Christmas and to treat each other with kindness.
In his Christmas message Bishop of Ossory Niall Coll says today reminds us that all human lives matter and are meaningful…
“Even among those who no longer have religious faith, this matters today when people in the West respond with horror to scenes of suffering in places like Gaza, especially the pain of children and civilians.”
“They are drawing often unknowingly on this moral inheritance. Christmas reminds us that human dignity does not depend on power, nationality, or success. It insists that the lives most easily ignored are, in fact, the ones that reveal what truly matters.”
Meanwhile,
Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty says today reminds us to check in on those who might be lonely, that while some people are surrounded by family, others are not…
“We share in the same ritual, and if we’re honest, we wouldn’t want to change a thing. I love Christmas. I hope all of you do. Yet I’m conscious there are people out there who will be on their own for Christmas.”
“Christmas can be a day of contrasts. In one house, several family members will be crowded around the one table, wearing their party hats, pulling Christmas crackers, telling jokes. Next door, a solitary figure might be sitting alone around a microwave meal. Let’s look out for one another this Christmas.”
Dean of Ossory Stephen Farrell says he’s particularly conscious of those who have been displaced due to war and how the longing for peace is felt deeply…
“Now, these women spoke of their joy at being community, but they also spoke of the joy of living in Ireland. But along with that, there was a deep sense of longing, a longing to be home, to be with their loved ones, longing to be able to use the Christmas traditions and community celebrations of their childhood the way it was before and of course, they also spoke of the longing for peace.”
