​​Christmas Message in the year of our Lord 2020,

Greetings my beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus. This is our Christmas Message for our faithful. Metropolitan Archbishop James W. Morgan is the author of this message. We are grateful for his insights and wonderful reflections contained in his Christmas message to us. May God bless you and your beloved families and loved ones.

Gozhqq Keshmish, Milad Majid, Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Froehliche Weihnachten, Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova, Buone Feste Natalizie, Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!, Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom, Feliz Natal, З Різдвом. No matter how you say it or what language you use Christmas in 2020 will be like no other in our lifetimes. However, our message is the same and, perhaps never more important than now. I won’t spend a lot of time talking about the condition of the populations of the world. If you are a sentient being you already know full well about the Pandemic and no matter where you fall on the political spectrum the disaster this last 4 years has been for America and the world.

The message from Almighty God is the same now and forever: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;“ Isaiah 49:15-16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” St. John 3:16 If that is the way that God feels about each and every one of us, then that message must be shouted from the rooftops. This Christmas we have a unique opportunity to not just talk about Jesus but to show him to our own particular spheres of influence and to the world in general. In a Covid-19 world, how do we do that? One of the many ways we can do that is by availing ourselves of every social platform available. Technology is not only for the young at heart. Those of us who are older must make it a priority To learn how to use it to the advantage of the gospel. Whether it's live streaming your masses on Facebook, your website, or to YouTube or sharing on a blog on Instagram or Twitter, or simply emails and texts to your congregation, all of these are available to each and every one of us. I am not an end-times fanatic and Jesus warned us that we would not know the day or the hour. He also said that we would know by the things that are happening around us (St. Matthew 24:3-33) that it is close as he said “even at the gate.” If this is so then our mission and this message has never been as important and is crucial to the salvation of souls. Saint Faustina and the revelation of Divine Mercy, the message of Our Lady of Fatima, Lourdes, and many others encourage us to not wait but pray now for ourselves and the world.

As priests, we privileged to confect the Eucharist and administer the other 6 sacraments but that is not all we are commanded to do. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

Not only has Jesus given us the great commandment and the great commission He has also promised to “be with us always,” I challenge you to get fired up about the privilege that our savior has placed upon our shoulders. Our commission and call has always been important but never more so than now. Merry Christmas and a Peace filled, Holy Spirit fired, and inspired New Year. Archbishop +James W. Morgan Jr. Pax et bonum.

++ John