Catholic Transcript Online

As many of you know, I recently experienced health difficulties for a few weeks and was limited to my residence for getting work done. I did undergo a procedure to correct a common heart rhythm abnormality. It was a rare procedure but, fortunately, it worked out very well. The doctors assured me that the problems I had were temporary, and the transient difficulties involved would clear up completely.

My experience has indicated that the doctors were right, and I am deeply grateful to them for their expertise and effectiveness. I am also profoundly appreciative to all of you for your prayers, your concern, and your strong encouragement. In the days when patience was a particular challenge, I especially valued your support and, of course, I continue to do so.

With renewed vigor, we enter the sacred season of Advent and prepare for the wondrous feast of Christmas. The cards, gifts, and busyness of these weeks can get close to overwhelming. The hymns, however, remind us of the depth of this time, from "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" to the multiple carols echoed throughout the centuries. Beneath it all, we are in communion with the One who is Yesterday, Today, and Forever. He brings us to Christmas with the birth of His Son and continues to sustain us through all the times and seasons.

The joy of Christmas, however, brings to mind at the same time the terrible tragedies so many people are suffering this year: unemployment, housing foreclosures, lack of health care, the list goes on . . .

Health care for all has been a pressing concern in Washington for the past year, and for many years and decades up to now. The Catholic Bishops of the United States have advocated over many years that adequate health care be made available to everyone. This fact is one of the reasons why the Church is highly respected on this issue.

Thousands of pages have been written on this matter this year. In no way do we claim to be experts on all the issues involved, but we do insist on certain basic principles: we support universal health coverage which protects the life and dignity of all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable; we oppose any efforts to expand abortion funding, mandate abortion coverage, or endanger the conscience rights of health care providers and religious institutions; we support effective measures to safeguard the health of immigrants and their children; we affirm that health care is a basic human right.

We are most grateful for the many Representatives in Washington who support these principles, and we pray that many more will follow their lead. I am most appreciative of all in Connecticut who have communicated our convictions on these matters to our Representatives. Your input is having substantial effect. We must continue to remain vigilant, on a bipartisan basis. As you know, I have written and spoken about these matters many times. It is gratifying to know how many people are in agreement.

Moving through the season of Advent to Christmas, it is exhilarating to see the ongoing generosity of our people to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. Your giving has carried through the year and will do so until Dec. 31. December is usually an especially generous month.

As I write this, our total for 2009 is $9,244,251. That is only $61,448 lower than at this time last year. The total number of donors is 50,602, which is 451 lower than last year’s. The average gift this year of $182.69 is actually 41 cents higher than that of last year.

Those are remarkable totals, and they bespeak your magnificent generosity. In a time of economic meltdown, you show that you are far beyond Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Our services to assist the poor who otherwise might fall through the cracks continue to move forward. Our emergency assistance fund is still meeting the needs of people with problems. Against all odds, you are unstinting in rendering the exercises that are the time-honored and Church-honored corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Your Advent and Christmas prayers far surpass hollow hymns and canned carols. You are one with the saints and angels who sing, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those on whom God’s favor rests."

Some are able to give, others are not. For you all I pray, with deepest gratitude, that God bless you abundantly for a richly graced and profound Merry Christmas.