Some of the defining news stories of 2015 have been the shocking and terrifying accounts of refugees fleeing their livelihoods due to the war in Syria and the atrocities of Daesh in the Middle East. During this season when we hear of how Jesus, at the very beginning of his life, was treated as a migrant outcast, it is pertinent to reflect upon the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict from his Christmas Midnight Mass homily in 2012.
"Inevitably the question arises, what would happen if Mary and Joseph were to knock at my door. Would there be room for them? ...The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for God."
The National Executive Committee of the YCW wishes you all a very happy Christmas.
The National Headquarters of the movement will close on Wednesday 23rd December and will re-open on Monday 4th January 2016.
The Nativity scene at the YCW Headquarters in Trafford Park, Manchester.
