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In his allocution this December 25th, Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García, Archbishop of Havana, invites us to follow in the light of Christ so as not to live and walk in darkness. This light makes us see the wonders of God and united families. “In births we see angels proclaiming and singing: Glory to God in heaven and on earth, peace. Glory to God in heaven and in Cuba, peace. Glory to God in heaven and in my house, peace.”

At Christmas we recall God’s greatest commitment to humanity. The eternal Son of the Father became flesh forever, for us, and for our salvation. May such a delivery be fruitful for all. May we, in this particular year, feel God close again and pass it on to those around us.
Merry Christmas.

In his Sunday address to this fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García, Archbishop of Havana, invites us to repeat continually before all events: “Behold the slave, the slave of the Lord, may thy Word be fulfilled in me”.

Saying yes to God will lead us on unsuspected, even unwanted paths, but It will free us from fear and risk of mistakes, from the danger of wasting the life He has given us. Saying yes to God implies humility of heart, serenity, audacity, perseverance, struggle with oneself, capacity and willingness to listen, generous dedication. So was Mary’s yes, not a one-day response, but a decision that defined her whole life.

How are we going to rejoice when the pain passes us by? What are we going to rejoice in when we are robbed of the deepest essence of who we are and want to be? Why should Christians rejoice when many live cocks and sad? Today’s Word of God comes to help us reverse this apathetic and annodine situation of sadness and abulia. Certainly God does not want us sad, hesitant, or ungrateful. Joy, like good, is communicative and diffuse. You can’t hide. It has to be shared, and sharing it grows and multiplies. Let us ask the Lord to live our Christian faith with joy. Let us ask Mary to smile always, to smile, even if we have a soul full of tears, as her song says. True and permanent joy, not momentary, superficial or cover-up of reality; joy that is founded on the strength of the Spirit of Christ that always aggss and accompanies us. May nothing and no one deprive us of the joy of the Lord. He’s our joy.