Inviting those on the periphery

Christmas is an inclusive festival. No wonder the first Christmas, the invitation was for all on the periphery: the shepherds, the pagan kings... But in our eagerness we celebrate Christmas with only the ones we know, only the Catholics. I tell the Brothers when they go out for their weekend ministry: Go, reach out to all, irrespective of which religion they belong to. You are being sent to the village and not to the Catholics alone of that village.

Nice to celebrate Christmas by including all those who are normally not invited, those forgotten. As for me, I'd like to send a note to all whom I've not been in touch with since I left Hyderabad - and that's a really long list!! One of them was Fr Tom and surprisingly he called me this morning!