HEALTH workers are the flicker of hope amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Master of the Order of Preachers Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, O.P. said in his Christmas message.
He said medical frontliners make people feel that “all will be well even in the face of adversity,” a manifestation of God’s gift this Christmas.
Timoner said the presence of Jesus could be found in these people.
“For us Christians, darkness ends when we see in our brothers and sisters, in everyone, especially the poor, the very presence of Jesus himself. This is the true celebration of Christmas — to proclaim our faith in the Emmanuel, the God-who-is-with-us,the God-who-is-in-each-and-everyone of us,” he added.
He urged the faithful to remain grateful to God even amid the pandemic.
“Christmas, whether in a time of pandemic or prosperity, is a celebration of the inscrutable nearness of God—a thanksgiving who gives Himself as a gift…We take hope and consolation in commemorating the birth of Emmanuel or God,” Timoner said.
Because physical touch and proximity are a no-no because of the virus, physical distancing has become “a sincere sign of nearness and genuine concern” for others, he noted.
“I am glad that in these trying times, we have heard and seen the manifold preaching and works of charity of our brothers and sisters, touching the hearts of so many. Christmas joy is a gift which awaits us when we preach the One we have heard, seen and touched,” he said. Sophia T. Sadang
