“Jesus of Nazareth by his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God” (Francis, Bull Misericordiae Vultus, No. 1).
By his incarnation Jesus is revealing his preference to the little, the homeless, the voiceless, to those, who are not loved!
Dear Sisters and Brothers!
Christmas is an invitation to reflect life in various ways, to share and to celebrate: personal, together with others, in the family, in the congregation. The mystery of the incarnation embraces us all and is able to let us feel the love and tenderness of God to mankind. He is a God who looks after us like the Shepherd for the lost sheep, like the woman after the lost Drachma. He comes to us in the form of a poor and fragile/weak child; thus he shows us that the transforming power of life lies in the small and simple and not in the big and extraordinary. We make this experience in everyday life in our mission in the midst of the people of God, who precisely reveal to us this message.
The current world context reveals to us a humanity, which tries to learn to live amidst of a great complexity. Many brothers and sisters in the world are searching for life, for peace, for work and cherish the dream of a live in dignity.
When the message of Bethlehem sinks down from the head into the heart, it will also be better understood and lived with the obligation to be a sign of God's Providence today!
Again, we reach the end of a year! How many experiences! How much shared life! How much could we add to our knowledge! Our congregation experienced the jubilee year of mercy, enriched by a renewal process in everyday life, this year was a source of rich and fruitful experiences and invited us to "be merciful as God's Providence".
Before us there lies a new year, in which God will surprise us with his mercy and his blessings.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, we wish you a: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
In prayer united,
Yours sincerely
General Coordination of the Sisters of Divine Providence,
Sisters of Divine Providence
Jubilee Year of Mercy for the 175th Day of our foundation
1842-2017
In this year's Christmas greeting, moved by the experiences of our jubilee year of mercy, we chose a meaningful picture: we have photographed a Nativity crib of the Child- and Youth welfare-home St. Mauritz – our place of foundation. This crib is familiar to the children, adolescents and Youth that we accompany there; they are here representatives of all the children, to whom we are a sign of God's Providence worldwide through our mission. Our fellow sister, Sr. Hannelore Petri made this crib. The figures of this Nativity scene - the Holy Family and the children - have no distinct facial features and also no protective roof.
The lamp and oil, the light of mercy, which travelled during the visitations of the General Coordination everywhere with us and stimulated the reflection and sharing, represents us here. It is a sign of our desire, to brighten and warm the hearts of those that dwell in to-days existential marginal areas, especially the children among the refugees or migrants, as well as those young girls and women, affected by human trafficking.