Christmas is a time for joy and celebration. For some, it brings great religious significance, observing the birth of Jesus with family and their church community; for others, it involves holiday fun and taking a break after a long year. And for too many, it brings loneliness.
‘When I worked in mental health, I was reminded that Christmas is a lonely time for many people. I recall patients self-admitting into the hospital because family, for them, was not a place of safety, security, and love,’ said Catholic Healthcare’s Chief of Mission Integration, Nehme Khattar.
He noted the similarities in the message of the Christmas story and the lyrics of the English Liverpool Football Club anthem, which originated from the 1945 Rogers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel, ‘You will never walk alone.’
‘“Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone,” dare I say it, the heart of the Christmas story is that God in Jesus tells us that you'll never walk alone,’ said Mr Khattar.
‘In the midst of our lives, the successes and failures, joys and sorrows, and in the ordinary, the message of the child Jesus is that God has become vulnerable in such a way, in fact, born in a manger, to tell us that you are never alone, that you don’t have to do this on your own, that I am with you, even in your darkest hour,’ he said.
Nehme's hope this Christmas is for residents, clients, employees and their families to be comforted by this message, and to know that we walk alongside them at their own pace, that they are precious and unique, and worthy and lovable.
‘This Christmas, reach out if you feel lonely and offer to walk alongside others who do,’ he said.