18 December
Your Excellency President Valdas Adamkus,
First Head of State Vytautas Landsbergis,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors and Leaders of the Church,
Fellow Members of the Seimas,
Ladies and Gentlemen!
We have gathered to, let me call it, the first anniversary of the National Prayer Breakfast, as we have come together for the tenth time already to share our ideas about the values of the Gospel in our daily lives, in society, and in mutual relations. With the most beautiful Christian and family holiday approaching, we have gathered to concentrate in prayer and spark the flame of faith, hope, and love in our hearts and minds, and in the lives of our loved ones.
But this is not the only reason. The last, the fourth week of Advent before Christmas will start tomorrow. Thus, here and now, we have an excellent opportunity to ask ourselves what this “happy expectation” was and is like. How have I experienced it and how am I experiencing it? Or perhaps, my daily work and routine has prevented a chance to reflect on how I am meeting the Christ?
Let me remind you the highly meaningful message by Pope Benedict XVI that he pronounced at the beginning of this year’s Advent. His Holiness asked the believers of the world to prepare themselves for the birth of the Lord in the manger, in Bethlehem.
“Expectation or waiting is a dimension that flows through our whole personal, family and social existence. Expectation is present in thousands of situations, from the smallest and most banal to the most important that involve us completely and in our depths. Among these, let us think of waiting for a child, on the part of a husband and wife; of waiting for a relative or friend who is coming from far away to visit us; let us think, for a young person, of waiting to know his results in a crucially important examination or of the outcome of a job interview; in emotional relationships, of waiting to meet the beloved, of waiting for the answer to a letter, or for the acceptance of forgiveness.... One could say that man is alive as long as he waits, as long as hope is alive in his heart.”
The Holy Father said this just a few weeks ago.
It is probably true to say that in one way or another each of us has experienced moments of expectation when we are seemingly ready, but still thinking everything over, taking a closer look at each corner and making sure that all things are in the right places and that we have enough of everything.
Most importantly, in the moments like this, we reflect on essential things making the expectation meaningful and on crucial values leading along the path of our lives.
Unfortunately, I see large spiritual disarray in the current life of Lithuania, as many people build their lives exclusively on tangible and financial gain rather than spiritual strength tested through centuries. It seems that today we have everything we desire, but in the heart we feel that something is still missing. Even the numerous charity and support campaigns these weeks sometimes remind me of events aimed at just comforting our bad conscience. We dial a 4-digit number, donate a few Litas and as if free ourselves from guilt by attempting to convince ourselves that we have done everything we could for the children and elderly who are less fortunate than us.
However, the feeling that something is still missing persists, because what matters is not the donated Litas, not the soup provided for the needy, but personal attention to each person experiencing hardship, being lonely or in need. Of course, financial assistance and support is important, but it is even more important to offer a hand, an embrace, or a kind word. Only then, the feeling that I have really done everything for Lithuania to have fewer marginalised, lonely or needy people can fill my heart with bliss.
Why have we lost this sincere care, expectation, and desire to serve our neighbour? Aren’t we lost on our path of convenience? Have we lost our ability to treat our dearest guest to the best things we still have in our hearts and our lives?
I would like to say that we have not, but all of these values are hidden somewhere deep and only occasionally and shyly we reveal them and speak about them more loudly and assertively.
Allow me to remind you Jesus’ words from the Gospel of Matthew, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Sometimes it seems to me that we have been building our state’s house on the wrong foundations, on sand, for twenty years already. Many things go awry and wrong, not the way we want. But it does not mean that things cannot be changed. We can make the foundations stronger; we can renew them thus strengthening the entire state. Moreover, the foundations, consolidated by the blood of innocent victims of 1991 and by the hopes to have an independent state are strong indeed, since no hypocrisy or lie will be able to destroy them if only we manage to retain the cornerstone values on which the foundations are laid.
Today I remember the message of John Paul II to the Lithuanian youth, quoted by President Valdas Adamkus during the last National Prayer Breakfast. Can I remind you of it once again, that a challenging but glorious task is awaiting young people of Lithuania: to start building the future of the country not from windows, but from foundations. This was the message of the late Pope seventeen years ago; however, the words are still of importance, because the building of the house of a state, society, sharing lives, and building concord never ends. Day after day, we have to consolidate the foundations and walls of this house and maintain its windows and roof. We have to refer back to the values of our lives even in the hardest of moments, even in hardships.
Christmas Eve and Holy Christmas provide our families with a wonderful opportunity to gather and share warmth, love, and hope around one table. We share the values that connect us and make us an indissoluble family, strengthen our community relationships, and allow us to have hopes for the future.
Whatever problems may worry us, I believe that all hardships will pass while cornerstone values remain and muster us up.
Taking this opportunity let me ahead of time extend my warmest greetings to you as the Holy Christmas season is approaching. May our homes be filled with homely atmosphere, warmth, and kindness. May you and your loved ones enjoy the indispensable spices of life: Faith, Hope, and Love.
God bless Lithuania and all of us!
Irena Degutienë
Speaker of the Seimas
