“I believe that our solidarity is simply a channel through which people must realize God's solidarity with man. I believe in the celebration of God in the sacraments, which ultimately is the celebration and contemplation of this infinite love of God for man, especially for man who feels desperate, defeated even by the conflicts and tensions of life. And God sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to become incarnate in these problems, to incarnate himself in this story of desperation and hope, to help man realize that God is not far away, but is always incarnate, he is now a God present, that is, a God who becomes the servant of man”.
Don Luigi, 6 April 1990
Christmas occupies a central place in the thought and action of Don Luigi Di Liegro. It refers to the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus, through which God enters the history of people, makes himself visible, becomes close. Starting from this mystery, God - to use Don Luigi's words - is no longer an abstract principle, an idea, but a reality which can be experienced. You can hear God, you can see God because he became man in Jesus. The humanity of Jesus is the face of God. This mystery - which is at the center of the Christian faith together with the great mystery of the Trinity, which is the mystery of relationship - however for Don Luigi it is not something that concerns only God. This mystery of God's becoming neighbor towards man concerns us too from that moment on. Because we too are now called to be neighbors, to incarnate ourselves, to bring love into the concrete lives of people, into their needs, into their questions. Which we must first of all discern, know how to recognise. Because through our closeness, through our presence, through our sharing, people can also today, where they are, experience the love of God that saves. Which saves every time sharing, brotherhood, takes the place of solitude. Thus we understand why for Don Luigi charity was never just a question of clothes to offer, of packages to donate. Charity is not enough to save people, it is only love that saves. But to reach people, God's love needs our love, our presence, our incarnation. The credibility of Christmas passes through each of us.
