God Loves Us and Walks Beside Us

“God loves us and walks beside us”

Message from Card. Angel Fernandez Artime

(ANS – Rome – Dec. 27, 2023) - On the feast of the Lord’s nativity, the presence of the Salesians’ Rector Major at SDB headquarters in Rome aroused an atmosphere of joyful celebration. The basilica of the Sacred Heart had the privilege of hosting Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime for the celebration of Mass, and the faithful and confreres were able to receive his Christmas message and blessings.

In his homily, Don Bosco’s 10th successor emphasized how God’s presence has marked human history through different people, in different ways, and above all by sending his Son to speak to us and show how great is his love for us. He said that this innocent God comes among us in a humble, fragile, and poor way, to walk beside us and show us his benevolent love.

Fr. Angel also explained how the “non-reception” was already an experience noted by the evangelist John, who says: “He came among his own, and his own did not receive him”; they preferred darkness rather than light. But God continues to be with us, to live in us, and to walk beside us. God, who wanted to be among us, left it to our freedom to choose to welcome him, or not. This was God’s great weakness, leaving everything to our freedom and respecting our choice. This is a sign of the extraordinary love of God, who comes among us, leaving us free to choose our way in the world. Humanity today is going against God’s plan, destroying the universe for selfish ends and leaving no room for the Lord.

Fr. Angel also spoke of the current situation in the world, of the 28 areas where there are armed conflicts, many of which are not mentioned by anyone. Every day more than 20,000 people die as a result of this violence, and the world has no adequate response to offer those who suffer. God is in our midst and continues to be so, going through all our sufferings. Every year the Lord comes to visit us, to find all of us, the poor, the weak, and the suffering. He concluded by inviting everyone to grow in this faith, to understand how much God loves us, how much he loves each one of us personally, emphasizing that this is the mystery of Christmas.

After Mass, the altar servers of the basilica offered a small performance of Christmas carols, and the Rector Major together with the other Salesians participated in this carol singing, listening to the altar servers, who were at their best expressing the fervor and joy of Christmas with much zeal and dedication.