Father David: Christmas message to the CPAM

As we advance in our march towards Christmas, our hearts are full of gratitude for the gifts received this past year. We are all preparing ourselves to receive the greatest gift of all, “God with us”, born as a helpless and threatened infant in Bethlehem. Again, we are aware of our responsibility to reach out to protect this child, to bring him into our embrace and share him with the world.

The past year has been a difficult one for our torn and bleeding world. We need the Prince of Peace more than ever. However we must also count our blessings: we had the joy of opening a new house in Tel Aviv, Saint Joseph’s House, and in Jerusalem, Saint Rachel House, greatly expanding our outreach to the babies and to the children of the migrant communities in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, broadening our services to the Filipino and Indian migrants, continuing our committed service to the Sri Lankan, Rumanian and Lebanese communities, reaching out more and more to the Ge’ez rite faithful, continuing our spiritual closeness to the prisoners, the victims of human traffickers and the Bedouin and assisting the migrants who are sick in mind and body.

We continue to pray together as one Church. We give thanks for Pope Francis who strengthens us, who work in the ministry with migrants, by his words and actions, calling us to the peripheries. In a particular way, we pray for our Archbishop Pierbattista, that he might indeed find means to renew the diocese and draw us ever closer together in all our diversity, Arabs, Israelis and all of those from many nations who make up together the Church of Jerusalem.

As always, at this time, we also pray for all our friends and benefactors who have made our activities with the migrants and their children possible over the past year. With their spiritual and material support we continue to serve all those Christians who live in the Holy Land.

Finally, I want to thank each one of you. It is a great privilege to be part of such a wonderful team and I thank you for your deep commitment and faithful service. You and those you serve will be in my prayers this Christmas.

Rev. David M. Neuhaus SJ
Coordinator of the Pastoral among Migrants