There were shepherds in the area who took turns watching over the herds in the open.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them. The glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
The angel said to them:
-Do not be afraid. Behold, I bring you good news, a great joy for all the people.
Today in the City of David is born to you the Savior, the Messiah and Lord.
That will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
(Lk 2:8-12)
Dear sisters, brothers, families and friends.
The Advent road leads us to Bethlehem and we travel it driven by the illusion and certainty that offers us the memory of the heart full of all the events lived in this year 2025.
Like the shepherds, God has given us luminous signs that have given us a new perspective on the road we are walking to Bethlehem. These signs speak to us of his presence in our history, in the daily and simple tasks of our lives. They reveal to us the delicacy of his presence in the Jubilee Year of Hope and in the celebration of GC XIX, with the depth of his call in the midst of our work, our desires, our stumbles and our searches.
The GC XIX Determination has opened a wide horizon for us to continue to respond with renewed hope. It has been a fruitful time of listening, discernment and confirmation of the Spirit that has impelled us to live with greater passion our vocation to be Daughters of Jesus. The Jubilee Year that is coming to an end has reminded us of the inexhaustible mercy of God, always ready to recreate our life from the possibilities that dwell within us.
In this climate of joy and jubilation, we welcome the announcement of the angel who describes the sign we should look for: you will find the Messiah and Lord, wrapped in the littleness of a child and the simplicity of a manger. Once again, he approaches us through his humble fragility. He visits us and invites us to allow ourselves to be transformed by his way of loving. His birth once again gives us the grace of being daughters, Daughters of Jesus: called to make his tenderness transparent, to embrace littleness as a place of encounter, revelation and to serve with joy wherever life places us. A style that we learn to live in the open, like shepherds, attentive to the signs that God offers us.
At Christmas, we hear once again those words that changed the shepherds’ night: “Do not be afraid”. In the midst of our own fragility, uncertainty and darkness, this proclamation reminds us once again that God draws near with a light that does not intimidate, but accompanies and sustains.
Jesus awaits us in Bethlehem, also in our daily encounters, in our shared mission, in the gestures that heal, in the words that encourage, in the glances that transmit hope. Like the shepherds, we too are called to let ourselves be surprised by the voice of the angel who breaks into the silence of the night and fills it with a light that transforms us forever.
Merry Christmas!
Graciela Francovig, FI, Superior General,
Sisters of the General Council and of the Curia community
