Merry Christmas from Kuching - Malaysia

By Fr. Andrea Belo, SDB

Kuching, Malaysia, 26 December 2017 -- We are now once again in the season of Christmas. The whole world celebrates Christmas, the birth of Jesus, our Redeemer and Messiah. The good and loving Father gives us His Son to live with us. His birth is a very special gift to human being and to every one of us. He gives us His only Son to stay with us and to lead us back to Him.

We celebrated the Vigil Mass at 9:10 pm in St. John’s Church, one of the biggest stations in Bau Parish, with more than one thousand faithful. The rain did not stop them to come in order to share the happiness of the birth of Jesus, our Savior. This joyful celebration encourages us to live in peace with everyone we meet in our life journey. This peace will contaminate our inner most hope for the salvation that Emmanuel brings us. Christmas reminds us of the continuous presence of God in our life. He stays with us until the end. And His presence among us gives joy, peace and hope. And so we change our life day by day and become joyful people, peace makers and the people of hope. Receiving Jesus, we change our life.

n the morning of 25th December, we celebrated the birth of Jesus with the people in Kampung Sogo, in the Chruch of St. Elizabeth at 8:30. The followers of Christ gather around the Altar of Love to thank God for the very special gift they ever received from God, their Creator. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3, 16).

In Jesus, God is with us. He is among us. He presents in our daily life, no matter where we are: either we stay at our hometown or at abroad. I had the immense joy to celebrate also this Christmas with more than hundred migrant workers from Timor Leste and Indonesia (mostly from Nusa Tenggara Timur). We are happy to celebrate the birth of Jesus also far from our homeland and far our family and relatives. The birth of Jesus gives us the courage to raise up our life and that of our family by working not in our hometown. It was the first time for them to celebrate Christmas in their working place. Christmas gives us joy, peace and hope.

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