Christmas message from Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry

The last few years have been difficult for many people. There's been the pandemic, there's been the financial crisis, there's homelessness for many, and broken relationships.

I know parents do great work at home in order to try and cheer up the children, but there's lots of things hanging over us. And of course we've seen so much of war, particularly in the land where Jesus grew up. We've seen how high tech weapons have been used for the wanton slaughter of so many individuals, completely harmless and completely unarmed.

"...the crib at Christmas... is a story of one who's in solidarity with us in all the messiness of our lives. He, after all, was a nobody who had to flee from his home. He was under threat from an early stage in his life. It speaks of a God who somehow or other is still in solidarity with our broken world."

Bishop Donal McKeown

And yet there are many groups which do huge work to try and cheer everyone up. There's great generosity, there's great charity, there's great goodwill. There's great quiet secret Santas who do lots of things in order to enable people to have pleasure at least for a couple of days over Christmas

I'm still amazed that so many people come to the crib at Christmas. It's more than just a nice little baby and shepherds. It's a story of one who's in solidarity with us in all the messiness of our lives. He, after all, was a nobody who had to flee from his home. He was under threat from an early stage in his life. It speaks of a God who somehow or other is still in solidarity with our broken world. And for me, the message of Christmas, the 12 days of Christmas that begin on December the 25th and go through to the 6th of January, the message of Christmas is that we can, if we work together, we can face the challenges of 2025.

Dark clouds hangover us. The sun of hope may be obscured very often, but together, if we pull together, if we are sensitive to one another in our predicaments and in our joys then we can face what comes ahead what's facing us round the corner

I hope you have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year.

+ Donal

Join Bishop McKeown for 33 days of family prayer

Bishop McKeown will be leading the diocese on 33 days of Family Prayer towards Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary, as part of the diocesan programme for the Jubilee year of 2025 'Pilgrims of Hope'. It begins on Thursday, 9th of January and will conclude on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Tuesday, 11th February 2025. 

Bishop McKeown explains "It is a journey I set out to make to entrust myself and my priesthood to Christ through the Mother of God. I extend an invitation to you and your families from the parishes of the diocese to join me". 

More details and times of the prayer programme with a video message from Bishop McKeown can be viewed at: derrydiocese.org/consecration