The below is the full text of the address made by President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca on Christmas Eve:
On Christmas Eve, I ask you to join me for a brief moment of reflection on the significance of Christmas from my point of view. Such a celebrated event, that happened over two thousand years ago, is still relevant today.
The significance of Christmas is not the number of presents I will receive, or how much I will eat and drink; but is tied with what the actual occasion that took place in a grotto in Bethlehem represents. The choice of a barren grotto as the place of birth of the Son of God portrays a strong statement which says, no matter how good we are, we need to think of the most vulnerable amongst us.
That is the reason why I take these moments in the year to reflect on those families and individuals who do not even have basic needs.
I reflect also on groups of children who, for example:
a) live in out-of-home care, and who are surrounded by unconditional love and care, given by both clergy and lay people;
b) I think of those children being asked to decide which parent they want to spend Christmas and New Year with;
c) I think of those children whose parent or parents are prisoners;
d) I think of those children who are being bullied;
e) I think of those children experiencing violence at home.
My thoughts are also with:
a) women and men who are victims of domestic violence;
b) those who are alone;
c) the sick;
d) the forgotten elderly;
e) those who have lost a loved one;
f) the homeless;
g) those with problems of mental health.
I believe that during these days of joy, these persons should all be central to the thoughts of people of good will and those assuming responsibility.
The manger, which was at the centre of this event, over two thousand years ago, is the manger of righteousness, which reminds us that the warmth provided by the livestock is better than the exaggerated, and often, impossible comfort promised by the superfluous world.
The manger in the grotto of Bethlehem is a metaphor of love, of humility in leadership, of magnitude in simplicity, of an open invitation to return to the world of substance, value and reality. This great event has lived on, because it is not the fashionable pair of shoes, or a branded hat, glittering jewellery, the finest cloth or a one-time photo opportunity.
It is an event devoid of any distractions, and it should help us recognize that the glamour of the moment is no answer to life’s questions.
Questions which include:
a) What are we doing here?
b) What is our vocation as human beings?
c) How can we build a just and social world?
d) How can we live together in peace without oppression?
e) How can we guarantee an environmentally healthy world for today and tomorrow?
f) How can we generate and equitably distribute wealth?
g) How can we welcome the stranger humanely?
h) How can we give hope to those who have given up on life?
i) How can we be role models to our children seeking direction in life?
These, and other questions, cannot be answered when the worldly momentary distractions make us forget the substance of life.
Away from the lights and unrestrained celebrations, the event we are celebrating brings us peace in its simplicity and genuineness, and does not permit us to constantly be what we are not. An event that compels us to remain what we truly are, genuine human persons, to understand the moral choices posed by it:
a) options that cannot be bought
b) options that cannot be replaced by fame, by titles and positions, by power, or by unbridled ambition;
c) above all, options that are full of the word love, both in spirit and in substance.
An event that, of itself, helps us understand the true priorities of life. It was the desolate and barren grotto that marvelled the three wealthy kings, and not the contrary. In this instance, the message of truth, peace, solidarity and social justice, won over the material riches, the thirst for power and the domination of nations. The message from the grotto shows us our true freedom, the road to a sustainable world.
Undoubtedly, you expect me to lead by example, to be the first to open my heart and my door to your needs. This is what we endeavoured to do this year, and will continue to try to do in the next.
Some are of the opinion that this is not the role of the President.
I wonder: if the baby born in a grotto in Bethlehem grew to wash the feet of the apostles, shouldn’t I try to imitate this love that does not say “I love you if …” or “I love you but …” but says “I love you as you are …”
With this in mind, I want this Presidency to continue to be an opportunity to live the Christmas spirit every day. In the coming year, I want the Presidency to create opportunities of all people, without distinction. I want solidarity to be real and lasting, not rhetoric, lasting for a moment in time. I want that love finds its fullness in action and not in words.
Above all, through the hundreds of persons working voluntarily with the Presidency, and with so many other organisations in aid of our society, you believe that there are still many people who want the spirit of Bethlehem to guide them; there are many who want to live the Christmas spirit every day.
While I wholeheartedly thank you for all you did during the year, my ultimate message is a message of comfort and hope. I want to tell you that you are not alone in your hardships, even in your darkest moments.
I must tell you that you are constantly in my thoughts and in my heart; you are, in fact, the main raison d'être of my mission. You will remain the substance of what I do. I will continue to dialogue with you, to reflect, and act in aid of social justice, because there can be no peace without social justice.
On my behalf, on behalf of my husband Edgar and my family, I wish you a Happy Christmas and a New Year 2016, in which we can live this extraordinary event, in an ordinary way, everyday.
A Happy Christmas to you all.
We will meet at Strina, the day after Christmas.