Bishop Michael’s Letter
30 December, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
We are at the end of the year and ready to welcome the New Year of 2024. Christmas drew us to the great wonder of our faith, the birth of Jesus Christ and the impact of his life on all of us. “Come let us adore” – we heard the ancient song and again, we were all drawn to the marvellous gift of our God in Jesus Christ. May this Christmas season be for all of us a reawakening of our commitment in His mission of making disciples and a time of peace for all of you and a time for coming closer to our God. Richest blessings upon you all.
The recent Feast of John of the Cross took my mind back to Segovia, Spain where in July, our World Youth Day pilgrimage celebrated at the Tomb of St John. In December last year, I was on pilgrimage with folk from the Diocese and we were in Jerusalem enjoying the peacefulness of the old city of Jerusalem and the places where Jesus walked, which is a big contrast to this year. I invite you to pray for peace in this part of the world and also in the Ukraine.
Recently, I visited Fr Peter Tonti and took our prayers and wishes with me. He is most appreciative of all the messages from across the Diocese and thanks each of you and looks forward to joining us again here in the Diocese after the treatment.
The return of the Lights of Christmas to our Cathedral this year was a marvellous display and a great community event. My thanks to all those who sponsored and produced these lights for the Catholic Diocese and its Cathedral.
On Christmas Day each year, a small band of our parishioners prepare and distribute Christmas lunch in the grounds of the Cathedral. These ‘Volunteers without Borders’ provide a little joy and lunch. Thank you.
As we complete the year, our thanks go out to the whole Diocese for your support and commitment to the mission of Christ.
To Sr Kym, who assembles this newsletter….thank you!
See you in 2024 and in the first few days, I will be taking your greetings to the families of priests from India. I will be visiting the families of Frs Alex, Gasper, Jomon, Raju and Sijo in Cochin, Frs Shaiju and Josekutty in Kannur.
You can view my Christmas message to the Diocese for 2024 by clicking here.
