Following the tradition of Silsilah Dialogue Movement to send a message on the occasion of Advent and Christmas to the Christians and on the occasion of the month of Ramadan to the Muslims, we are happy to reach out to many in this special time of the Christian faith. For us in Silsilah this time coincides with the closing of the 40th anniversary of Silsilah and the launching of a new special year to remember the 25th anniversary of the harmony prayer that we started in Zamboanga and spread around the world on the occasion of the declaration of total war in Mindanao by the president in the year 2000. We are convinced that the prayer is more powerful than war.
Today we are called to intensify our prayer and share more the HARMONY PRAYER and the harmony song in this difficult time for humanity due to wars and conflict in different parts of the world and for all of us alarmed by the climate emergency that is today the greater “war” that humanity has to fight together.
This special time of Advent and Christmas celebration is a great occasion to reflect on the message of love that Jesus Christ brought to the world, not only for the Christians but for all. May we reaffirm the message of the “love of God, the love of neighbor and love of common good” that Christianity, Islam and other religions proclaim celebrating together a special week in February (February 1-7) on the occasion of the WORLD INTERFAITH HARMONY WEEK.
The year 2025 is also a special time for Catholics worldwide because we are invited to celebrate in 2025 a special year, called “Jubilee Year.” One of the traditions of this “Holy Year” is the opening of the holy door in Rome, in the Basilica of St. Peter, a door that is opened every twenty-five years. Millions of pilgrims will go there and enter through the holy door and pray. For those who cannot go there is the possibility in every diocese some replica of the holy door in Rome.
May this special time of Advent and Christmas will be also for us a special time to “open” not only a door, but to open the door of our hearts to all. This is what we wish and we always share in Silsilah convinced that ” Dialogue starts from God and brings people back to God”.
May the Advent and the Christmas time help many people of different religions and also those who consider themselves “not believers”, an occasion to believe that only LOVE will save the world, and the coming Emmanuel (God among us), in the person of Jesus Christ, is a sign of hope for all.
SILSILAH DIALOGUE MOVEMENT