Dear Brothers and Sisters from St. Peter’s Parish:
When I opened my email this morning with the intention of writing to you and sending our Christmas greeting, I found the letter sent by Diane Marrin on behalf of Fr. Sharbel and everyone in the parish. I was very happy to receive your Christmas wishes and the news of what you are doing in the parish for Christmas. It is wonderful to see the bond we share and the interest and concern that you have in our parish and the Salvadoran people. We consider it an important gesture to send letters to your government asking that they not permit manipulation of the Salvadoran elections. This is very important for our people, because for the first time there is the possibility for a change in the politics of this country. We hope that this change will be for the betterment of the neediest Salvadorans.
This Christmas we find ourselves caught in the midst of a severe economic, social, and political crisis. There is no work, wages too unsteady, violence that does not end and instead seems to be increasing, and politicians who continue being among those least respected by the people. The political system is the institution in which people have the least amount of confidence, and our youth are very disillusioned.
In the midst of this very negative situation we are preparing to celebrate Christmas with much hope. For this year we’ve organized a Christmas vigil with all of the communities that will be held today, Saturday. We will all gather in front of the church and there will be theatrical representations of Christmas scenes, caroling, raffles, presents, piñatas, etc. We will be celebrating from 5 pm until 10 at night. We hope around 600 people will come. In addition, today we will inaugurate the nativity scene in the church. It is a very original and unique nativity scene prepared by a Passionist working with the youth, and we hope to be able to send you a photo of the nativity.
The 28th we will have the parish assembly to evaluate the past year and plan the coming year. This next year is especially important for us for various reasons: we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the death of Fr. Octavio in January. June will mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Fr. Rafael Palacios and November will be the 30th anniversary of the Passionist community in Mejicanos.
For January we have already planned various activities to celebrate the anniversary of Fr. Octavio: a week of themes about martyrdom, a congress about martyrdom with the two parishes where Fr. Octavio worked, and a march and pilgrimage with the two parishes and a final mass with the participation of artists. We hope to document these activities and send you further information.
Now I would like to speak of behalf of our parish to wish you all a very merry Christmas, full of blessings from our God. The greatest act of God’s love to humanity begins in Bethlehem and ends at Calvary. In Bethlehem, God makes Himself small and insignificant to be among us and live at our side, suffering and loving amidst our disappointments and joys. On the cross He is in solidarity with all of humanity and especially with those most crucified. I feel that our sister-parish relationship is also based in this principle of humility and solidarity. We humble ourselves to understand, grasp, and accept our brothers from another culture and we stand in solidarity with the pain of another parish. You and us, being from different cultures and social standings; we are capable of loving, understanding, and supporting one another. This is also “Christmas.”
We wish you all the peace and happiness this Christmas. An embrace from this parish to all our brothers and sisters from St. Peter’s,
Fr. Jesús María Ahechu