| JPIC Corner December 2009 |
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| Wednesday, 09 December 2009 00:00 |
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Coordinator’s Note
Brother Warren Perrotto, MSC JPIC Coordinator Missionaries of the Sacred Heart  I have often attended Christmas gatherings where a guest or two are invited because they would have nowhere to celebrate the holiday. On these occasions, I often reflect on how this would be wonderful if the whole world would do this, not only during the Christmas season but throughout the year.The Christmas season always involves community gathering, community building and community outreach. When we build community and reach out to others, we experience one of the foremost meanings of Christmas. The gospels show that wherever Jesus went, he formed a community and continues to do so today: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20). Jesus came to establish the community of the Reign of God. This community would be united in the bonds of a dynamic love. St. John reminds us, “Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” (I John 4:7-8)
This love which unites us to one another is not static. It is a love that reaches out to others. Like Jesus we can say,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke 4:18) The birth of Jesus reminds us of our vocation. The Incarnation is the testimony that God is love. We are all invited to share in this remarkable reality. God’s love summons us to love one another. The Reign of God, the community of believers are called to love one another.
This love is open to all persons. It is the “ultimate measure and rule of every dynamic related to human relationships...it is the very mystery of God, Trinitarian love that is the basis of the meaning and value of the person, of social relations, of human activity.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 54)
Perhaps during this Christmas season, we can reflect on the birth of Christ and his call for us to build community and to reach out to others. This Christmas, we might also mediate more on the fact that Christ wishes that we live these values, not just during holiday seasons, but live them each day.
I wish you all a joyful, peaceful and holy Christmas, and may God bless you with much peace and happiness throughout the New Year 2010. You will be remembered in my thoughts and prayers at Christmas Mass.
Br. Warren Perrotto, MSC JPIC Coordinator |
JPIC Corner December 2009
Did You Know?
In 2008, there were 39.8 million people (13.2% of the population) living in poverty in the United States, an increase from 37.3 million in 2007.
15.4% of the U.S. population (46.3 million people) does not have medical health insurance coverage.
As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy.
Approximately 50% of people who are homeless suffer from mental health issues.
Gang members are responsible for up to 80% of the crime in some areas of the US.
Around 16 million people are refugees and 51 people are internally displaced.
Each day in the United States, more than 4 children die as a result of abuse.
Over 500,000 students drop out of grades 9-12 each year in public schools in the United States.
Only about 75% of freshman in high school graduate with a regular high school diploma within four years.