Everlasting Christmas and Planetary Renewal

On December 10, 2001, the date on which the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) has been celebrated since 1948, I found myself in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the early hours of the morning and I was writing a document to the Legionnaires of Good Will that I would like to share with you here:

This is the month when we live the Birth of Jesus, the Ecumenical Christ, the Divine Statesman, despite the fact that in our conception, Christmas should be everlasting.

Tela: Carl Bloch (1834-1890)

And the Temple of Good Will, the Pyramid of the Luminous Spirits, the Blessed Souls, is the sweet home of the Human and Spiritual Family. Through the power of God’s Charity, it unites beings of all beliefs and non-beliefs, under the canopy of Christmas Solidarity.

Felipe Moreno/Thiago Bianchi

All over the world there are those who talk about Solidarity, but whose acts are a brutal denial of their words. Nevertheless, Jesus, everyone’s Divine Friend, performed His Heavenly Work even while on the Cross, when He was tortured between two thieves and to whom He directed His message of Solidarity, Regeneration, and Hope. He illuminated social coexistence with His preachings and examples that, even today, are still not fully understood by many who think they govern the planet. Availing Himself of the deepest meaning of Religion, Jesus has carried out the Divine Service of balancing minds and hearts. He spent His redeeming Apostleship elevating His friends so they had a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Kingdom of the Father. In order to make His sublime sowing a reality, He talked to all those who wanted to listen to Him, and the seeds blossom in the hearts when the soil becomes ready to be fertilized, promoted by humility, which He superbly exemplified.

Renewing destiny

Whenever necessary, however, Christ showed that humility is above all courageous. One cannot find in His Life one single act of cowardice in the Mission that he received from the Creator. His model is that of courage. That is why He rose from the dead to continue teaching and helping in a solidary way.

His actions were crowned by His persistence. His Accomplishing Faith caused the world to be renewed, having as foundation the Fraternity that reigned among His disciples. He preached union through the Fraternal Love of His New Commandment (The Gospel according to John 13:34 and 35; 15:7, 8, 10 to 17, and 9). Throughout the centuries His perennial Patience and Work have awoken Souls, the holy altar of prayer, even though His effort cost Him tears of blood.

Tela: Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (1852-1929)

His Presence strengthens us. His Generosity keeps us alive. His Mercy is what sustains us. To Him, the Heavenly Liberator, we owe the undefeatable decision to persevere always on the good path, even during the most terrible storms. He is in the boat. More than that: He is at the helm, giving to “Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (The Good News according to Matthew 22:21).

He only asks us to stay firm in the Accomplishing and Deifying Faith, which removes mountains, and He confirms it when He promises that “He will be with us each and every day until the end of the age” (The Gospel according to Matthew 28:20). With this, He unceasingly breathes new life into our Spirits. Indeed, every day is the day to renew our destiny.

Let us walk with Him, united, with solidarity. Let us fight at His side, and by overcoming all the ambushes of evil, victory will be ours. Whoever trusts Jesus does not waste time, because He is the Great Friend who never abandons a friend along the way.

May God’s Peace be in your hearts now and forever, heroes of the Divine Good Will! With Jesus we shall always, always, always win!

José de Paiva Netto is a writer, journalist, radio broadcaster, composer, and poet. He is the President of the Legion of Good Will (LGW), effective member of the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) and of the Brazilian International Press Association (ABI-Inter). Affiliated to the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Writers of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Radio Broadcasters of Rio de Janeiro, and the Brazilian Union of Composers (UBC). He is also a member of the Academy of Letters of Central Brazil. He is an author of international reference in the concept and defense of the cause of Ecumenical Citizenship and Spirituality which, according to him, constitute “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul, the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition, the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Justice, Mercy, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Fraternal Love.”