Christmas Message – December 2025

There are many reasons, some global, some closer to home, some very personal to struggle with Joy these days. Our news / media feeds us with negativity and the marketeers bombard us with promises of Joy if only we’d buy this product or service.

Meanwhile approximately 132 million babies were born worldwide last year, over 54,000 in Ireland. On one level childbirth is among the most common of human experiences and yet there is something about the mystery of a baby’s birth that overwhelms us, that breaks us out of whatever darkness might be compelling us. We are drawn to give thanks and praise for this common place miracle. There is still wonder in placing our finger into a tiny and perfect hand, and small fingers curl around and grasp ours.

We remember that this is how God has chosen to be ‘Emmanuel’ (God is with us) in the birth of a baby to unknown people in a then unknown backwater of the world. The birth of Jesus is God’s promise that he is always close at hand. He appears not in the splendour of a royal palace but in a small stable, not in pomp and power, but in simplicity of life. The birth of Jesus calls us to look beyond the fleeting illusions of certainty and all our worldly cravings to rediscover in the simplicity of this Christ Child, the real hope of peace, joy and love.

A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. Lets each try to embrace the world more fully in 2026, in our attitudes and actions, as we lovingly place our finger into the tiny perfect hand of Jesus this Christmas. May you all find peace, joy, rest and hope in your families and our Christian community, this Christmas.

Fr Pat