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MESSAGE
FROM THE NATIONAL PRAESES
Dear sisters and brothers of the Canadian Kolping Society:
"Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us". Bethlehem is a town ca 6 km from Jerusalem, the ancient place where the house of King David originated and the divine Messiah has been born.
To 'go to Bethlehem' is not so easy anymore these days. You have to pass strict border controls and you are never sure if you will be admitted to the town. But it is still, among Christians, regarded as the venerable place where Christ was born, where shepherds in the fields heard the angels sing and announced to them that the Saviour of the world has appeared in human flesh.
The message of Christmas is not fulfilled with a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. More important is that we hear the message of Chrismas: the incarnation of the Son of God - of Jesus Christ our Messah and Saviour - foretold by the prophets. Divinity and humanity became united again since Adam and Eve's act of disobedience.
To listen to God's word, to have communion with God again - that is what we should strive for - especially during the Christmas season.
So I wish you all who belong to the Kolping Society in Canada a Merry Christmas and another blessed year of salvation.
Treu Kolping!
Father Karl Hoeppe CSsR
Toronto, Ontario
