Whoever you are that happen to read this page, know that you are precious in the eyes of Almighty God.

You might not have this experience presently; you might not feel precious to anybody. On the contrary, you might presently feel abandoned and marginalized even by those who are supposed to be close to you.

But even if you are fortunate enough so as to have at least one person for whom you are really precious, and shows you so much care, you know that it is only human, with all its limitations.

What a blessing for us Christians to be entrusted with the Good News of Christmas. Believe it or not, this is what we proclaim: “God loved the world (humanity) that much so as to give His Only Son”. God is not ashamed of humanity: His Son took flesh and became man like you and me! My humanity, your humanity, is so precious in the eyes of God!

Yet, we open the news, even on these very days, and we hear again of the ethnic cleansing taking place in so many African countries like Sudan. But we need not go too far. Humanity has become so much inhumane. We despise what is human, we despise the human fetus; we despise men and women that do not serve us any more; we despise people who are diverse from us in any aspect of life; we despise human suffering as if it is not also human….

I am a priest and I am used to preach, but here I am not preaching. If I were to preach, I would preach first and foremost to myself. If I were to know… if I were to experience how precious I am in the eyes of God – not for what I have, not for what I can do, but for who I am – I would be able to communicate this truth to all around me, in a way that they too may know and experience this blessing.

I wish you and all the members of your family, a Holy Christmas and a Happy New Year 2014.