2024 Christmas Appeal for LifeLink

Speech

Most Rev Bishop Donald Sproxton VG
Auxiliary Bishop of Perth

Thursday 31 October, 2024
St Mary's Cathedral, Perth

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In recent years, ABC Classic has commissioned a new Carol yearly for Christmas. Although not overly Christian in tone, the carols reflect the human dimension of the holidays around Christmas and New Years Day. What is celebrated is the coming together of families and friends to share time together and tell the outstanding stories of the year that is about to end.

This year, the carol is about the exchange of Greeting Cards and the pleasure they bring because of the personal messages of love and appreciation they convey to the recipients. The song expresses the joy of knowing that we are special to the sender and important in the life of the family member or the friend.

We all know this kind of joy, especially if those personal words are penned and sent to us or handed to us. Sometimes we keep some of those cards as they are very precious and help us to remember and cherish the love that inspired them.

We gather this evening in the same spirit, in the spirit of love. The launch of the Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal provides the chance for us to be part of another act of recognition and solidarity with those most in need in our WA community.

I am absolutely amazed at the response that is given by our Catholic parishes and schools each year to both LifeLink appeals. And I am very grateful, as what we gather through the appeals enables us to continue supporting the people who struggle because of disadvantage to find acceptance and a place in our communities.

The Christmas appeal, I believe, makes it possible for us to send the message to our brothers and sisters, who are suffering, poor or disadvantaged that they are noticed and we act with generosity because we see Christ in them, as we are called to do in every person.

We may not think that our own giving can do much as we become aware of the enormity of the challenges that are faced daily by the poor. But our giving does mean a lot and does a lot to help. This is because our motivation is love. And together we do make a difference.

Are we not sending a sort of Christmas Card to those we support? Isn’t the sacrifice we make in order to give to the Christmas Appeal our personal message of love to someone that we may never meet but is helped because of what is possible now?

Please pass on to your parish my personal thanks for their continued support of the Christmas Appeal. May the time in which we celebrate the birth of our Saviour be full of blessings, joy and peace