MONTHLY UPDATE
by Monsignor James T. McDonough
DIRECTOR, PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES-PHILADELPHIA

God bestowed the Gift of His Son Jesus on us.  Contemplating love become flesh is a mystery that overwhelms us with wonder. The feast of Christmas reminds us that God is Love as Pope Benedict XVI stated in his first encyclical, Deus caritas est: 

In Jesus, we are convinced of the fact that God’s love for us has not remained in words.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish, but migh” John 3:16
God manifests His Love through His complete self-surrender, with the gift of His very self.
The Church is Missionary through her witness to charity.  The Love of God enters history in this Little Child ~  His Gift to Us.
Missionaries like Father Khalid Rashid in Faisalabad, Pakistan bring hope to thechildren of the poor laborers who cannot afford to provide the most basic needs for their children. At the hostels he and other Missionaries have set up, the children learn about Jesus. 
“And when they learn about His life,” Father Rashid explains, “they not only realize how much they are loved by such a gracious God but they also have an extraordinary awareness that they must share that love with others.”

.In Bangkok, Thailand Missionaries bring the same gift of Jesus’ love to those living there. The economic crisis that has devastated so many families here at home has also wreaked havoc in this small country.  School attendance has dropped dramatically because students cannot afford the baht [about 36 cents] daily school fee. Bangkok school teacher, Nongkraan Mamoon, has recently begun sending a small container of milk home with the children who have remained in class, knowing that it might be the only dinner they will have. Families in Bangkok awake to a Christmas unlike any other celebrated in the United States.  They do not wrap gifts, adorn a tree or feast on extravagant meals.  Rather, they focus on the Infant Jesus.  Every home has the Baby Jesus in His crib where He is venerated.

This Christmas, will you help the poor come to know
the true Gift of Christmas ~Jesus? 
Will you add the Missions to your gift-giving list?

As little as $5 a day can help to support the work of priests, like Father Rashid, religious men and women, Nongkraan and other catechists – that’s just $35 a week.  Through your prayers and support, you will accompany Missionaries as they continue to proclaim the hope-filled “Good News” of God’s great love revealed in His Son, Jesus. 

What could be a better Christmas gift?

Photos:  www.jimspillane.com

For More Mission Monthly Update, click here >