Christmas 2011
Dearest Sisters and Friends,
Christmas blessings of joy and wonder to each one of you!
Once again it is time to celebrate the Eternal God, Lord of the Universe, creator of stars and space, who is born into our world as a helpless baby. The ‘creative energy’ of God has come to live among us with all the vulnerability of a human being.
The cosmic dimension of the birth of God is illustrated in the Christmas card we have chosen this year. It shows the Eternal God, source of the universe, born amid the stars and planets and in the sunrise. His coming creates a new dawn and brings a new life and energy to our earth. The Cosmic Christ has entered our planet.
In the opening of John's Gospel we read, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him." That Word, Jesus, made his dwelling among us. This is Christmas, when we contemplate the Word becoming flesh, Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, Emmanuel - God with us.
The Eternal God is born, the Word, through which all creation came into being, from atoms to galaxies. Christ is within the very structure of the cosmos itself, the pattern on which the universe was conceived and continues to evolve. This concept challenges the imagination, implying far more than we normally dare to think and compels us to pause in sheer wonder...
Nicolas Barré had a deep appreciation for God’s creation and the immensity and wonder of the universe. In one of his letters he writes, “We must remember to consider the visible and invisible universe, in its entirety as well as its individual parts, seeing it in its everlasting dependence on God, who created and supports it. Let us then turn our minds to reflect on God’s greatness, “creator of heaven and earth, visible and invisible”; not alone He who ‘made’ but He who ‘is making’ and creating all things. We move from wonder to adoration....” (Letter 13)
Let us ponder the mystery of Christ, leading us beyond what we see in the life of Jesus and in the life of the historical Christian churches. Christ is a fundamental part of physical creation itself and God's face is manifest everywhere in the cosmos shaped in his likeness. Our planet earth, a tiny part of the universe, has value not just in relation to us but as part of creation. The earth is also God's child with its own right to be respected.
This Christmas let the Cosmic Christ capture our imagination. Let us centre our lives in everything that He and His Kingdom convey. If Christ is the pattern according to which the universe itself is unfolding, then what is good and what is of God is also somehow manifest in the raw energy, colour and beauty of the physical, whether it is the beauty of a sunset or the uplifting harmony of a symphony. 
Let us celebrate our hope in the truth, the way and the life of the Cosmic Christ. Let us learn to embrace all of humanity. There is a way forward, and it is the way of Jesus. He came and he pitched his tent in our neighbourhood. He showed us through his life what it is to be truly human. He showed us that life consists of an intimate relationship with God, creation and humanity. When this relationship is cultivated and nurtured, when it is lived to the fullest, we find wisdom, vitality and a true revelation of the Kingdom of God in our midst.
The nativity of Christ is the most profound example of humility known to humanity yet Christmas is also a celebration of the Incarnation. While the nativity is the momentous historical event of Bethlehem, the Incarnation is an on-going process of salvation. At Christmas we celebrate the stupendous fact of the Incarnation, God entering our world ensuring that nothing has been the same since. And God continues to take flesh in our midst, in the men and women and children who form his body today. We celebrate Christ’s continuing birth in his people through the power of the Spirit. We rejoice in our redemption in Christ and the transformation of all creation by the presence of the divine in our midst.
Our celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation has a special significance for all of us who are trying to live the spirit that Nicolas Barré has handed down to us. Some countries have already begun to celebrate 350 years of the mission undertaken by our first sisters in Rouen in 1662. Nicolas Barré, a man of his time, wanted the sisters to be women of their time and to remain in touch with the realities of the people around them and the events that shaped their lives. Today we live in a world of instant communication where we are immediately touched by world events, including natural disasters, the economic crisis and other unexpected incidents that often frighten and overwhelm us in their magnitude. Our call to be in solidarity with those who suffer not only challenges us to respond to the needs of every day, but also inspires us to open our minds and hearts to reflect, to pray, to share and to believe that each of us in our own small way can contribute to the positive and creative energy of God, “who is constantly creating and recreating all that lives” (CA doc 2007).
More than at any other time in history our modern world and its technology enables us to deepen our sense of belonging and mutual care throughout the Institute. Our international website: www.infantjesussisters.org has been particularly useful and well used this year. It has enabled us to keep in contact with and support those affected by natural disasters as well as to share details of joyful events. The website is now frequently updated and you will find current news of the Institute including the ongoing celebrations for the 350th anniversary. During the
forthcoming Council of the Institute in Peru we hope to keep you in touch by including a regular account of the proceedings on the website.
May we celebrate Christmas this year with joy and gratitude in our hearts for the glory of God that is reflected among us because of God’s coming to earth as a human being. May our eyes be opened in wonder and may the earth see that we know and love God by the lives we live.
Marie Agnès and Masako join me in wishing each one of you a very happy and peaceful Christmas,
