A Blessed Feast Day to all our Brothers and Sisters.
Don't forget, you can support the work of our Grand Priory by watching our
Virtual Carol Concert and donating.
Just click on the link below.
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE GRAND MASTER
This Christmas may be like no other we have experienced. We come to the end of a year when so many
have endured so much suffering in so many ways brought on by the Covid 19 pandemic. Let us pray for
all those who have died. Let us stand with those who have been bereaved. Let us recall that we have
all suffered emotional and mental distress through fear and through being kept apart from our loved
ones and friends. Let us stand together with those who have found their incomes disappear or their
businesses struggle.
Perhaps what we will remember most is the necessity of being apart. Not least, that for the most part
we have not been able to gather together in the Order, either nationally or internationally.
Our Order is called after St Lazarus and it's founding charism that of caring for those suffering from
leprosy. We know from the Scriptures and we know it remains true today, that those suffering from it
are often excluded from society. The warmth of the embrace of family and friends, one of the most
basic of human needs, denied to them. This year, we have all shared in that feeling. But our Order began
precisely to combat that; to find ways to give them that comfort of care. So likewise, we must do so
today with courage and dignity in the face of that which afflicts us.
The precautions we live under are a sacrifice for the greater good, so that more of us may live to see
another day. Let us be inspired to find new ways to reach out and care for one another. When we
cannot hold hands we can still hold one another in prayer as we gather in spirit with the Holy Family
this Christmas.
The new life we celebrate each Christmas is the renewal of that which God has given each of us - His
life that courses through our world, which re-invigorates our faith. The many tragedies of Covid 19 have
also been the cause of so many acts of kindness and generosity that give us hope.
I pray that this Christmas will bring each of us new hope as we look to the future year with the strength
of God's grace within us.
S.E. Count Dobrzensky z Dobrzenicz
50th Grand Master
