We recently spoke with Fr. Phuong, SJ, a dedicated Jesuit missionary from Vietnam who has lived in Timor-Leste for over 20 years. Fr. Phuong now lives in Suai, one of the Jesuit residents, and his mission has had a long-term impact on the local population. As a priest and missionary, he has played an important role in strengthening people’s faith, nourishing their love for Jesus Christ, and promoting the spread of Christianity in the region.
We are also excited to feature Sch. Novario, a young Jesuit juniorate who has dedicated himself to serving God and discovering his vocation. Despite being early in his journey, Sch. Novario is committed to following the Jesuit path and he is ready to serve to the mission. We pray that he continues to listen fully to God’s call and find wisdom in the light that God reveals to him in his everyday life.
As part of our Christmas reflections, we asked Fr. Phuong, SJ, and Sch. Novario to give some insight on the significance of Christmas and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. We hope their reflection help us better grasp this lovely season.
Fr. Joseph Nguyen Thanh Phuong, SJ.
What does Christmas mean to you in this season or year?
The Christmas of 2024 is the very happy and meaningful Christmas to me, because the people of Suai Loro, will celebrate the Christmas in the new and nice Chapel. This is the fruit of their trust in God alone, their love of each other’s, and their working together during two years of the “hopeful Advent Season”. The strong message is clearer to people that God and His love always are with their people, even they haven’t had funds for the construction; and He has sent the “tangible angels” to help them.
How does God reveal His love to the world through Christmas?
God always makes us surprising through His unceasing Love. God becomes a human person like I, we and you! God incarnates in our own lives! God comes to us and live among us! I could see Him, touch Him, share with Him, hear from Him, live with Him visibly through every human person.
What does the humility of Christ’s birth teach us about serving others, especially the poor and vulnerable?
Christmas invites me go to meet Jesus as “a child wrapped in the bands of cloth and lying in a manger” (Lk 2,12). God-becomes-man is not the Event for people in the pass only, but this is the Event for everyone today too. God-becomes-man is not in the form of elite people but in the image of a weak-poor-child, that needs to be helped and supported. I could find God-becomes-man everywhere, I could serve God-becomes-man in every human person in what I can, especially the poor and vulnerable!
How can we bring the spirit of Christmas—love, hope, and peace—to the daily struggles of the people of Timor-Leste?
The spirit of Christmas also invites me to trust in the plan of God and to lay in His hand as Jesus is “laying in a manger” (Lk 2,12) and when He lays on the Cross (Lk 23,46). This is not only the symbol of feeding others but also the symbol of feeding place. The peaceful Child Jesus becomes the model of our daily lives in hopefulness in the love of God, Jesus Father and our Father.
How is your feeling and hopes about this advent or Christmas?
With the visitation of Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ in September, the fire of hope is still inflaming between the Church and the country. I am feeling this Christmas will be the restart of the new spirit for the re-evangelization in the lives of our people.
Others message?
I invite you mediating deeply the Child Jesus laying in the manger when you visit Him in this Christmas.
We hope this insight will give you reason to deepen your faith in God and love more Jesus Christ in this Christmas Season.
Sch. Novario Francisco Guterres Martins, SJ (Scholastic Junior)
What does Christmas mean to you in this season/year?
Since the first time I joined Society of Jesus, my perception towards the true meaning of Christmas began to change, grow and more profound in my understanding. In a way that it has become an invitation to grow, to change and to be more integrated in my Jesuit life. The same invitation for this Christmas, I see it, as the called renewal of my Vows for the Lord. As a young Jesuit who had just took the First Vows in the recent months, I realized that there are a lot of things in which I have not lived my vowed life to fullest which the Lord had intended to. Yet, with His abundant Mercy and Love, once again, the called to the holiness is still strong and this called had manifested truly in this Advent Season and the upcoming Christmas. By which, the Birth of the Lord had become the beacon and the bulwark for my Jesuit life as He shown in His Most Holy Humility in becoming a man like us. I always believe, it is in the Humility that all Vows are sustained and grow.
At last, for me, living a Jesuit Life is always a life and the celebration of the Mystery of Incarnation by which We, I and all the Jesuit had taken our Vows to Him, our Lord, that may His Holy Name, IHS, be imprinted in our hearts. In short, Christmas for me is the call of the renewal of my consecrated life to the Most Blessed Trinity.
How does God reveal His love to the world through Christmas?
“For God so loved the World that He gave us His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have Eternal Life (John 3:16).”
Answering to the question, for me, the above passage had described it all, that God’s fullness of Revelation to Humanity is the Mystery of Incarnation by which our Lord, Jesus Christ, with His Divine Mercy and Love chose to become one like us in order that we can be brought back to our real Home, Eternal Life in Heaven. This experience of the Mystery of Incarnation is not something new to all the Jesuit because of the Contemplation in Second Week Spiritual Exercises. In the prayer a novice is directed to contemplate on how the Holy Trinity looks down to Earth that was in chaos and the Trinity decided that Jesus will be Incarnate through our Lady.
Recollecting this experience, I still remember one of my prayers in this Contemplation where in the discussion, the Second Person with His own will chose to lower Himself to become a slave like us and one thing that still made me wonder is the decision for the Economy of Salvation is only One and for all ages. How beautiful and magnificent that Plan. Because through the Mystery the Plan of Salvation had brought home millions of souls in to the Kingdom of God.
In short, the Birth of Jesus is the fullness of revelation of God’s Love and Mercy, that He had desired to give to Humanity as a ransom for our sinful life.
What does the humility of Christ’s birth teach us about serving others, especially the poor and vulnerable?
I always described Humility as God’s hidden way of revealing His True Eternal Glory. Because humility is the very stronghold of every virtue and a virtue which not all humans are capable of. By choosing to live as a man and being born in a manger, Jesus’ life had become a role model of a perfect human. Yet, how does this humility teach us towards the service of others?
For me there are two reasons for that:
- Humility is a heart that knows how to open to anyone, anyplace and anytime. Which leads a person to be more loving towards others. Humility required Openness.
- Humility is a heart that knows how to accept. This Acceptance is a call for everyone to follow. This acceptance is clearly shown as Joseph and Mary tried to seek for a place to give birth to Jesus. Though they were rejected many times, they never complained but to search more until they found the manger. For me this grace of acceptance requires a lot of humility and at the same time, humility also requires
How can we bring the spirit of Christmas—love, hope, and peace—to the daily struggles of the people of Timor-Leste?
The Spirit of Christmas is always the Spirit of Joy, hope and Love. But, to bring the Spirit to others, for me, must begin with oneself. It can only affect others if I experienced the spirits first. Because rather than, telling others, we pray that we too can experienced the love, hope and peace itself and by God’s grace we also will bring that love, hope, peace and joy to others.
How is your feeling and hopes about this advent or Christmas?
For me, I felt a lot of things had gone throughout this year. But one that still not perish is the feeling of a calling to a deeper reflection of my own Jesuit Life. The Advent is a time of waiting but for me it is a preparation for the renewal of my vows that through the birth of Jesus.
By: ETR Communications (Iriana Soares)