A Christmas Message From Bishop Anthony

Almighty God and Father of Light, a child is born for us and a son is given to us.

Your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night and now your Church is filled with wonder at the nearness of her God. Open our hearts to receive His life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with His glory and peace, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

— Dawn Mass of Christmas

It is the season for exchanging gifts. Last year the youth of the world gathered in Cologne -- the city of the Three Kings -- to bring to Christ not just gold, frankincense and myrrh but something even more precious: their faith, hope and love. They joined with Pope Benedict, the whole Church and all their generation in focussing on the very beginning of Christ's time among us when, as the Christmas babe, he received our homage and offered us salvation.

That was the beginning of Jesus' journey and at Christmas time we especially focus on this. But there was more for him to do. He had a life yet to live and it was the life of a young person. For almost all of the years that the Son of God was among us, he was not a baby or a full-grown adult, but a young person. God was for most of his human life on earth in the age group of World Youth Day pilgrims! And like them he was a pilgrim, making his way through the world and through life, seeking the will of the Father and sharing his faith, his power, his very substance with the rest of humanity along the way.

At the end, after completing his mission as a young pilgrim saviour, he promised us one last gift and asked one from us. He promised us the power of the Holy Spirit. He asked in return that we be his witnesses to all the world. Th is is the theme chosen for World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008: the fulfilment of Christ's last words in the lives of the young people of the world.

World Youth Day is only a year and a half away. So let's make this Christmas season a time of preparation for the great pilgrimage to Sydney. We are working hard here in Sydney to receive you as a pilgrim in 2008. Get yourself ready now for that journey. Sweep out the stable of your heart; receive the Christ Child and kneel in worship before his crib. Open your mind and heart to receive God's Holy Spirit when you come to Sydney!

God bless you and all those you love in this holy season and in the year ahead.

Bishop Anthony,

Coordinator,

World Youth Day 2008

Bishop Gerald Wilkerson's Christmas Message

Christmas is about Christ. By keeping him in the forefront of the Christmas season, we can truly celebrate the greatest gift of God — the gift that will never disappoint.

If asked what Christmas means, the average person would probably give a sentimental answer: “Christmas is for children,” or “Christmas is about giving.” In the long slide down the slippery slope of secular culture, these sentiments are now applied to “the holidays” in a general sort of way and the word Christmas is suppressed, along with any lingering religious content that the word might carry with it.

In the hearts of believers, however, Christmas is and always has been a celebration of the birth of the Savior. It is a time we hold sacred because it is about the Lord whom we love. It is the feast of his Incarnation. It is a celebration of the mystery of God becoming a man, so that human beings could share in the life of God.

The season of Christmas includes both the Nativity and the Epiphany. The Nativity centers on Jesus’ birth and the events immediately surrounding it. The Epiphany in turn celebrates three episodes of his early public manifestation: the visit of the magi, the baptism of the Lord, and the first miracle of Jesus—at the wedding at Cana, when he changed water into wine.

The Christmas season is a time when we retell some of our most cherished stories as a faith community. Not only do Christians mediate upon the marvelous infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke, they also see in these stories rich symbols of Christ’s identity. He is the suffering Messiah; the ox and the ass of the manger scene symbolize Jews and Gentiles alike “feeding” at the trough of divine revelation; and the Holy Family’s search for shelter dramatizes the personal faith question, Who will take Christ into their homes and make him welcome?

The Christmas mystery serves as a touchstone for deeply held values of the Catholic community. Angels sing to shepherds, and we hear a message of peace delivered to the poor of every time and place. Herod slaughters the innocents, and believers grieve the senseless death of children. The magi follow a star to seek a king, and a Church rejoices in the journey of faith and the progress of all human knowledge and science in the service of truth.

Christmas is about Christ. By keeping him in the forefront of the Christmas season, we can truly celebrate the greatest gift of God — the gift that will never disappoint.

— Bishop Gerald Wilkerson

Bishop Gerald Wilkerson's Advent Message

Advent is a season of preparation. In the retail business world, it is a short time for the cash registers to ring. In our homes and at work, it is a short time for everything to get done so that holiday festivities can happen. In the light of all these external forces, the Church offers us breathing space.

Dear Friends,

Advent has a twofold character. The first task of the praying Church in the Advent season is to affirm our belief in the second coming of Christ at the end of time. We may feel anxiety at the thought of God’s coming because if we are honest, we must admit that there are many ways in which we are not ready to meet the Lord. Nevertheless, in our Mass we say that “we wait in joyful hope.” So Advent first of all is a time for changing our lives and waiting in joyful hope for the final coming of our Savior. How will this entire year prepare us for Christ’s coming at the end of time? How shall we live in this time between the first and second comings of Christ? What sort of person shall we be? How will our lives this year help to make the world a more just and loving place, so that when Christ comes again he will find us ready?

From Dec. 17 onward, the emphasis of Advent changes to highlight the birth of Jesus Christ. So the second task of the praying Church in Advent is to focus on the coming of Christ in the flesh, his Incarnation. We are called to remember how Jesus entered into the world by being born of Mary of Nazareth. When Christ comes into our personal lives we know that things will change. Advent is therefore a time to hear again the call to continuing conversion, the call to change our hearts and our lives.

Advent is a season of preparation. In the retail business world, it is a short time for the cash registers to ring. In our homes and at work, it is a short time for everything to get done so that holiday festivities can happen. In the light of all these external forces, the Church offers us breathing space. The promise of Christ’s coming speaks to our longing and restless hearts and helps us find our center in the midst of so many distractions. Make time for prayer and reflection; savor the time set aside for Sunday Mass; enter humbly into the Penance celebrations. The preparation of your heart and your soul is key to celebrating Advent.

— Bishop Gerald Wilkerson