My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Recently, I read something written by Pope Benedict XVI, when he was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, in a book titled “Co-Workers of the Truth.” He gives the following reflection which I offer for my Christmas message. He wrote:

“God Waits for Us.

“God has become man. He has become a child. Thus He fulfills the great and mysterious promise to be Emmanuel: God with us. Now He is no longer unreachable for anybody. God is Emmanuel. By becoming a child, He offers us the possibility of being on familiar terms with Him. I am reminded here of a rabbinical tale recorded by Elie Wiesel. He tells of Jehel, a little boy, who comes running into the room of his grandfather, the famous Rabbi Baruch. Big tears are rolling down his cheeks. And he cries, ‘My friend has totally given up on me. He is very unfair and very mean to me.’ ‘Well, could you explain this a little more?’ asks the master. ‘Okay,’ responds the little boy. ‘We were playing hide and seek. I was hiding so well that he could not find me. But then he simply gave up and went home. Isn’t that mean?’ The most exciting hiding place has lost its excitement because the other stops playing. The master caresses the boy’s face. He himself now has tears in his eyes. And he says, ‘Yes, this is not nice. But look, it is the same way with God. He is in hiding, and we do not seek him. Just imagine! God is hiding, and we people do not even look for Him.’ In this little story a Christian is able to find the key to the ancient mystery of Christmas. God is in hiding. He waits for His creation to set out toward Him, He waits for a new and willing Yes to come about, for love to arise as a new reality out of His creation. He waits for man.”

Truly, when we seek for the God who is hidden, we must find Him in His creation which is visible to us, most especially those who are around us. He waits for us to encounter Him in those around us. There is no better time than Christmas to recognize this way of finding the God who is with us in the people who are around us. In our love for them we experience the reflection of God’s love. If we fail to love those around us, we will never discover the God who is hidden from our eyes.

Christmas is the time when we earnestly seek the God who created the universe in His Son Jesus, who became man for us. We recognize in the birth of the Savior the longings of the centuries and our own human longing for one who will save us from what we perceive to be evil. Christmas is truly the time of finding what is hidden, and we must never give up on the pursuit. We must continually reach out to others, because only then can we find ourselves and find God who is hidden from our eyes.

As we celebrate this Christmas we truly “put out into the deep.” We seek with the deepest longings of our hearts for God’s presence that sometimes eludes us. At Christmas we are reassured that if we seek God, we will find Him; we cannot give up on the pursuit.

I take this opportunity to wish you and your families a most blessed Christmas and the presence of Emmanuel, God with us, for each and every one of you.

Bishops’ Christmas Schedules

The schedule of Christmas Midnight Masses at which the bishops of the diocese will be present was issued this week.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will be at St. Mark’s Church, Sheepshead Bay; Retired Bishop Thomas V. Daily will be at St. Anthony of Padua, South Ozone Park; and retired Auxiliary Bishops Joseph M. Sullivan and Rene A. Valero will be at Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village, and Blessed Sacrament, Jackson Heights, respectively.

The four Auxiliary Bishops will be at the following churches:

• Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello, Holy Family, Flushing;

• Bishop Guy A. Sansaricq, St. Gregory the Great, Crown Heights;

• Bishop Octavio Cisneros, Holy Child Jesus, Richmond Hill; and

•Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, St. Rosalia-Regina Pacis, Bensonhurst.

On Christmas Day, the bishops will celebrate Mass at the following parishes:

• Bishop DiMarzio, St. Michael’s, Fourth Ave., at 10 a.m. (bilingual);

• Bishop Sullivan, Our Lady of Hope, 8 a.m.;

• Bishop Catanello, Holy Family, 9 a.m.;

• Bishop Cisneros, Holy Child Jesus, 10:30 a.m. (Spanish);

• Bishop Caggiano, St. Andrew the Apostle, Bay Ridge, 9 a.m.

Honored by Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens and Progress of Peoples Development Corp. recently honored Michael D. Lappin, President and CEO of Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), and Msgr. Otto L. Garcia, pastor of St. Joan of Arc, Jackson Heights, at the 59th Annual Bishop’s Testimonial Dinner held at the Steiner Studios in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Lappin received the Progress of Peoples Achievement Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to affordable housing and community development. Msgr. Garcia received the Ubi Caritas Deus Ibi Award for distinguished, unselfish support of human services in recognition of his ministry of service to the bishops, priests and people of the diocese. Shown, from left are Lappin; Linda Heller; Msgr. Alfred LoPinto, Vicar for Human Services; Msgr. Garcia; Robert Siebel, Executive Director/CEO, Catholic Charities; Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio; Jim Ryan, television broadcast journalist; and retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan.