Syrian archbishop speaks of hope, joy amid suffering, in Christmas message
December 19, 2014
Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria, has issued a Christmas message encouraging his people to celebrate the feast joyfully despite their troubles.
“The greatest tribulations, war and the wickedness of those who have not known God, cannot hinder the flow of tenderness and mercy which Jesus pours generously on his own,” the archbishop wrote. He expressed his hope that Christmas would bring “joy and consolation in the midst of this shameful war.”
Archbishop Jeanbart recognized the enormous suffering of the Syrian people:
Many families had been losing everything, they are in need and suffer hunger and cold, shells and bombs destroyed their homes and demolished their business leaving them without any penny in hand. Truly, we are suffering greatly because of what is happening to us but with the humblest and the poorest, we wait anxiously but with patience and great hope for the Lord to bring us this year the gift of peace.
The archbishop said that there were hopeful signs that Western nations are pressing for an end to the fighting in Syria. He offered his thanks for the generosity of Christians who have supported the work of the Church to relieve the suffering of refugees:
Thanks to your generous kindness, dear friends, we are this year able to continue to offer significant support to a growing number of families. We will continue to pay the school fees for their children. We will offer well-stocked food baskets every month. Our emergency fund will continue to sustain at the end of each month the men who have families and have no jobs and no revenue. We will take care of their medical needs and sometimes even find lodgings when they have to move.
The Nativity is “the feast of welcome and of hope,” Archbishop Jeanbart reminded his people. He said: “This feast cannot be celebrated without joy in the hearts and smiles on the lips.”
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