SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS...

Christmas is just a few days away...I have not really got into the Christmas joyful mood just yet as it has been a really busy period of just trying to finish work before the Christmas Vigil Mass.

But at this moment, I decided to put aside all the work for my heart and mind to have a few silent moments to ponder over what Christmas this year means to me. It is my 9th consecutive Christmas away from loved ones back home. It is a very long time to be away from the love and joy of the Christmas tradition that I grew up with. More than any time of the year, Christmas  is a season I have always absolutely loved as it meant being together with family and great friends - celebrating the Christmas Vigil Mass,  to share hugs and kisses, good food, great cheer, presents and just feeling all the "love" that is in the air! 

So what is Christmas? Some friends have asked me before how I could give up all that I am used to especially during Christmas. I have often asked myself that very same question. The answer is best expressed by the beautiful Christmas song  in the YouTube Music video above - "THIS IS CHRISTMAS" by KUTLESS.

Christmas is all about Christ.  There is much to do to share and celebrate the Christmas joy with Divine's Family - here, across India and all over the world. It is a time to remember in a very special way the love and support of so many hardworking and generous people who remember our Divine mission's urgent charitable and evangelization needs - and they quietly and lovingly are our financial and spiritual partners  to proclaim the Good News everyday - not just in words but by their loving generosity. 

Being a part of the Divine mission, we all try, with God's grace, to make Christmas a very special and holy celebration of Joy - a Divine Christmas is always all about Christ! So it is not that I love my friends and family less - it is about helping to bring Christ's message of Love and Joy to our Divine Family of 3000 members who include the residents of all our charitable homes and the VC priests and fulltime volunteers and to ALL our Divine Family members across the world. 

Every year we visit many of the Divine Homes during Christmas and there is such expectant joy from everyone - the 300 orphan children of our De Paul Home for Boys and Samaritan Home for Girls, the De Paul school, the 600 mentally ill patients of Divine Care Centre , the 100 elderly women in Mari Santhi Bhavan , and the 100 residents of St. Vincent's AIDS Home. Just seeing that few moments of joy and laughter on their faces makes the sacrifice of being away from my loved ones worth it. We are all blessed with love and the security of enjoying Christmas as we wish. But for our less advantaged Divine Family members, it our own little actions here that can bring a special  little extra festive joy to their lives. For me, it is a little act of love - of bringing Christ to them. There are also people from all over India and overseas who come to spend Christmas with Jesus attending a Divine retreat. Every Christmas here is always a special holy, joyful and spiritual experience! The Christmas Vigil Mass always fills me with such hope and joy for the future. That is the true message of Jesus - He is our Lord of Love, Hope, Joy & Peace - He is not about fear and retribution.

Friends of Divine Singapore

Just last week, I had a group of friends from Singapore who were here for the Advent retreat. As we visited the Homes,  the joy they brought to the children and the residents of the other Homes was so heart-touching. The kids loved their wonderful rendition of one of my favourite songs - "This Little Light of Mine". I was not feeling too well that day but even I felt the great joy in my heart seeing Christ in their smiles, their singing, their spontaneous interactions and all the clapping to the songs at every Home we visited. The joyous "Jingle Bells" that all the schoolchildren sang along with them was the best rendition I have heard in the longest while! The Christmas goodies capped a great afternoon! They were Christ's Light - and their little lights shone and lifted up so many. To the Friends of Divine Singapore group (you know who you are) - may the joy you experienced in the Divine retreat and the joy you brought to our Divine Homes be a  special memory we will all always treasure - the bonding of Divine family ties!

Divine's De Paul school children singing along to Jingle Bells!

For Christmas is all about Christ and our family. As we strive to live for Christ, our hearts must be big enough to love beyond our "nuclear" or "blood-ties" family to include God's Family - especially those in need and to make the Good News known to every one.  There could be an elderly couple near you who could be spending Christmas all alone. Why not surprise them with a visit and some Christmas goodies or invite them over for a meal?  We are all one family in the eyes of God.

My Christmas wish for all my friends and loved ones is that Christmas will not just be a one-day festive celebration but a permanent state of our heart to love others and to express that love by our thoughts, words and deeds all the year through...