Cardinal Tagle's Christmas Message 2018

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2018

In the name of the Archdiocese of Manila I wish you and your loved ones a Blessed celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ!

The bishops of the Philippines have declared 2018-2019 as the Year of the Youth. It is good to reflect on the relationship between the youth and Christmas since we often say that Christmas is for everyone but especially for the young. To fulfill His plan to save us, God sent His Son as a child. Jesus is his name, meaning "God saves His people". Isaiah prophesied a time of JOY and PEACE "for a child is born to us, a son is given to us, upon his shoulder dominion rests" (Isaiah 9:5). The rule of the Child King ushers in joy and peace from God. Only the child-like can bring joy and peace to world. The Filipino youth deserve genuine joy and peace offered by the Savior Jesus, "the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). 

This year we also mark the 200th anniversary of the famous Christmas carol SILENT NIGHT, first sung in a village church in Austria on Christmas Eve 1818. Since then the song has provided a message of true Christmas joy and peace to generations of Christians all over the world. Silent night. During the time of Jesus up to our contemporary time, some nights have become moments of ominous silence. Crimes and evil deeds are often plotted and executed in the frightening silence of the night. The people who suffer and are continuously threatened and harassed live in endless silent nights. But those silent nights are not holy nights. The Child Jesus transformed eerie silent nights into holy nights by pouring on us "love's pure light". Pure love makes nights bright and holy because it comes from God. Only God can love authentically and absolutely. The song also states that God's pure love is manifest in the Child "so tender and mild". Pure love, tenderness, gentleness are marks of the rule of the Child King, thereby making nights holy.

My prayer and wish for all Filipinos and for the whole of humankind, especially for our beloved young people, is for us to welcome and live the joy and peace of the Child Jesus, who is God's pure love, tenderness and gentleness. To the youth, we elders ask pardon if the world we are bequeathing to you is darkened by toxic falsehood, violence, bullying, vices, greed and corruption. Please do not swallow or inhale this toxicity. Jesus the Child is with you. With Him, renew humanity, society, religions and creation with love's pure light, tenderness and gentleness. Christmas is for you. 

+ Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle

Archbishop of Manila

http://rcam.org/index.php/component/k2/item/346-christmas-message-2018

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Cardinal Tagle's Christmas Message 2017

My dear Brothers and Sisters in the Archdiocese of Manila,

All over the world, Christmas greetings express a wish that the person or community may experience joy on Christmas: Have a Merry Christmas! A Happy Christmas to you! Maligayang Pasko! Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Joy is at the heart of the Christmas event.

The angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary of Nazareth was, “Rejoice, favored one!” (Luke 1:28). Responding to Elizabeth’s profuse praise of her, Mary said, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” (Luke 1:47). The angel that visited the shepherds declared, “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Luke 20-11). The Magi “were overjoyed at seeing the star and on entering the house they saw the Child with Mary his Mother” (Matthew 2:10-11). The first Christmas was an explosion of extraordinary joy in the world because in a simple, quiet but real way, the Savior has come – as one of us, a brother among us. He came not to destroy us to but to make us whole. Jesus’ pure goodness and genuine kindness bring joy to those who need God’s healing.

The joy of Christmas is about Jesus’ goodness and kindness that we manifest to one another. During Christmas, we try to make other people happy; and we are happy when we see them happy. We find creative ways of making the sick, orphan, prisoner, widow, hungry, homeless, and victims of violence and natural disasters feel they are important and loved. Seeing their smiles, we are moved to tears. As we give joy, we receive joy in return. Let us imagine a world where those simple acts of Christmas kindness and goodness generate a new culture when done repeatedly even outside the Christmas season. My wish is that we develop and spread a culture of Christian joy beyond Christmas. This culture embodies the enduring joy of Jesus’ coming contrary to the false joys or thrills that excite us temporarily:

The joy of saving peoples’ lives, rather than the thrill of destroying them,
The joy of sharing possessions, rather than the thrill of accumulating them,
The joy of denying oneself, rather than the thrill of getting ahead of others,
The joy of forgiving, rather than the thrill of retaliating,
The joy of accepting people, rather than the thrill of isolating them.

We witnessed this joy among the drug dependents who had completed the Sanlakbay Parish drug rehabilitation program, their families, the barangay officials, the police and volunteers. We saw this joy in our Moslem brothers and sisters who had protected Christians from persecution in Marawi and joy in the Christians who had experienced heroic love from those who differed from them. We marvel at the joyful strains produced by the bell orchestra composed of poor girls who study at the Sisters of Mary Girlstown and we eagerly await the joyful music from the street kids of Tulay ng Kabataan who are learning how to play the violin. Let us nurture a culture of joy, not a culture of anger, bitterness and violence. We need good will that produces acts of kindness and goodness. “Ang pag-ibig ang siyang maghari. Araw-araw ay magiging Pasko lagi.” Maligaya at mabiyayang Pasko sa inyong lahat. Luwalhati sa Dios sa kaitaasan at sa lupa’y kapayapaan sa mga taong may mabuting kalooban!

+ Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle
23 December 2017

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A letter from His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle

A letter from His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will be read in all masses (August 20) after communion.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Archdiocese of Manila,

On August 12-17, 2017, I participated in the meeting of Caritas Latin America held in El Salvador, a country where many people had been killed in a civil war. Until now it still contends with armed groups. In El Salvador, I heard news of the increase of killings in our own country due to an intensified war against illegal drugs. I am inviting you to reflect, pray and act.

First, all Filipinos agree that the menace of illegal drugs is real and destructive. We must face and act upon together, as one people. Unfortunately, it has divided us. Given the complexity of the issues, no single individual, group or institution could claim to have the only right response. We need one other. We cannot disregard each other. Let us invite families, national government agencies, local government units, people’s organizations, schools, faith-based communities, the medical profession, the police and military, recovering addicts etc. to come together, listen to each other and chart a common path. The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us. The Archdiocese of Manila would be willing to host such multi-sectoral dialogue.

Secondly, to understand the situation better, we need not only statistics but also human stories. Families with members who have been destroyed by illegal drugs must tell their stories. Families with members who have been killed in the drug-war, especially the innocent ones, must be allowed to tell their stories. Drug addicts who have recovered must tell their stories of hope. Let their stories be told, let their human faces be revealed. We knock on the consciences of those manufacturing and selling illegal drugs to stop this activity. We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives. Recall the words of God to Cain who killed his brother Abel, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil” (Genesis 4:10). Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society. I call on all the parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila to mark the nine days from August 21 (Memorial of St. Pope Pius X) to August 29 (Beheading of St. John the Baptist) as time to offer prayers at all masses for the repose of those who have died in this war, for the strength of their families, for the perseverance of those recovering from addiction and the conversion of killers.

Finally, let us conquer evil with good (Romans 12:21). Let us save the lives of people most vulnerable to drug dependency: the youth, the poor and unemployed. Words of solidarity without tears and acts of compassion are cheap. I enjoin our parishes and vicariates to commit again to the parish-based drug rehabilitation program of the Archdiocese of Manila called Sanlakbay in partnership with the local government and police. I ask the Basic Ecclesial Communities and other organizations of the lay faithful to care for our neighborhoods in coordination with our partners.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you! May the Lord let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you! May the Lord look upon you kindly and grant you peace!” (Numbers 6:24-26)

+Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle
Archbishop of Manila
19 August 2017

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Vision Statement of the Archdiocese of Manila

English Version

A people called by the
Father in Jesus Christ
to become a Community
of persons with Fullness of Life
witnessing to the Kingdom of God
by living the Paschal Mystery
in the power of the Holy Spirit
with Mary as Companion

Tagalog Version

Bayang tinawag ng
Ama kay Hesukristo
upang maging Sambayanan
ng mga taong may Kaganapan ng Buhay
sumasaksi sa Paghahari ng Diyos
nagsasabuhay ng Misteryo Paskal
sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santo
kasama ang Mahal na Ina
ang Birheng Maria

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