Beloved Brethren,
It is with great joy that I wish to greet each and every one of you reading this letter with a deep sense of fraternity and friendship as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, the moment that changed the history of the world. It is the moment of the entry of God's Spirit into human nature so that human nature was given the possibility to raise itself to the dignity of the divine.
While that is so, we in Sri Lanka are going through a difficult period of time having faced a catastrophic cyclonic storm which has destroyed and shattered our nation's dream of a return to normalcy after the earlier disasters. As you know nearly a 1000 people have lost their lives or are presumed missing and nearly two million people have been left without anything as their houses have been either buried in the mudslides or washed away by the flood waters.
In this background, with so many of our brothers and sisters still suffering intensely, it is not proper for us, Sri Lankans, to make the birth of the Divine Saviour, an event of noisy celebrations. Instead, this Christmas should be a moment for us to reflect about and bear in mind this painful situation to pray for the victims, our brothers and sisters, and for our beloved motherland, to do everything possible to help them feel that they are not alone; to contribute to the effort the Archdiocese is making to help them in their various needs and to tone down on the externals and refrain from organizing noisy gatherings, parties and waste. Together, let us continue to witness the love of God in the world.
May the Lord bless each one of you at Christmas and give you joy, a joy that is not ephemeral but deeply spiritual. May the New Year bring renewed hope, strengthened faith and countless blessings to you and your loved ones.
Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith
Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka
December 2025
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