May every Church and Christian community be a place of mercy amid so much indifference.

Let us learn from the Virgin Mary how to be bolder in obeying the word of God.

We pray for the many brothers and sisters who seek refuge far from their native lands, who seek a home where they can live without fear: that they might always be respected in their dignity.

Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God's creation, made in his own image, destined to live for ever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.

Love makes us similar, it creates equality, it breaks down walls and eliminates distances. God did this with us.

It's true, harm to Catholics must always be avoided, and all of us do this...but not at the price of the truth!

May the Santo Niño continue to bless the Philippines and may he sustain the Christians of this great nation in their vocation to be witnesses and missionaries of the joy of the Gospel, in Asia and in the whole world.