Pastoral Letters and Messages
Message of Archbishop Denis Hart for Christmas 2003

Christmas is a time to pause and be grateful. God came to a human family in Jesus. He thrust himself into the ordinary, giving us a sense of our worth, in the importance of every day.

We wish peace to nations and loved ones, an end to conflict, and a hope that renewed humanity is possible. That hope, we offer to all people of good will.

Christmas this year dawns upon human darkness and uncertainty, frailty and suffering. The anguish of refugees seeking welcome; the needs of the many cultures who make up Australia to live in harmony; the spectre of terrorism; the huge human price of the war in Iraq and the rebuilding, the fragility of peace.

God’s coming invites each of us to be a partner in rebuilding family and community. To the extent that we contribute, we will enrich the world and live in the light of the Christ who came to save us – to lead us out of darkness into his own wonderful light.

Christmas shows that joy and hope are the catalyst of what we can become.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.