Celebrate God-with-Us

At Christmas we celebrate many things — family, friends, the blessings of the year — but most of all the good news that God has become one of us. Jesus has come to us as a little child, has become a human being to show us the depth of his love. Our new Superior General, Very Rev. Michael Brehl, reflects on this event in his Christmas message.

As Redemptorists, we proclaim this good news all year — news of a God who has come close to us. But this message takes on a special face at Christmas time. By reaching out to the poor and abandoned in our communities, we draw people close to the manger, close to the Child Jesus who shows us what it means to love.

Just before the start of Advent, Redemptorist seminarians living at Immaculate Conception Church in the Bronx, NY, helped deliver hot meals to shut-ins on Thanksgiving Day. Parishioners also collected food for an area food bank, and cooked and served a sit-down Thanksgiving Day meal for the elderly and the homeless.

In Lima, Ohio, at St. Gerard Church, parishioners collected enough food before Thanksgiving to supply the local food bank for three months. The Christmas Angel Tree program, which collected food and toys for the needy, also produced overwhelming results. Father James McDonald said food donations filled the church’s bride’s room to overflowing. And the toys spread from under the tree to fill one side of the sanctuary.

At St. Peter’s Church and School, one of our parishes in Philadelphia, PA, parishioners and students collected toys and enough food for 60 Christmas baskets to be shared with the needy in inner-city Philadelphia.

At St. Michael’s/St. Patrick’s Parish in Baltimore, MD, donations of toys and grocery gift certificates made Christmas a little brighter for families who visited the parish’s Assisi House, which helps the needy all year.

We have much to celebrate this Christmas, especially the gift of Jesus and the generosity his love inspires. We are blessed to have many friends and supporters who help us serve the poor and those who most need to know God’s plentiful redemption. You can help us continue to draw people to the Child whom St. Alphonsus Liguori loved so much. His song, "Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle," about that cold Bethlehem night so many years ago, is still the most popular Christmas carol in Italy.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus — in Bethlehem and in our hearts — know that we Redemptorists are praying for you and your intentions.

Christmas blessings and peace,

The Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province