ord Jesus,
Now that you will be born on earth
Let me warn you:
Don’t be born in Europe:
They’ll put you before a TV
filling you ups with popcorn and little snacks,
they’ll teach you to be always ‘the first’,
to grow and be a man of hustle and success,
You who are the humble Lamb of Service.
Don’t be born in North America:
They’ll teach you that you are “the best,”
That the most important thing is money,
That everything, even nature, can be reduced to personal interest,
They’ll teach you to shoot missiles,
You who are the Prince of Peace.
Avoid Africa, where you could be born with AIDS
Or die of diarrhea even as a newborn
Or end up a refuge in another country
Running away from wars and violence,
You who are the Lord of Life.
Avoid Latin America:
You’ll end up a ‘menono de rua’ (a street kid),
Or they’ll force you to pick coffee or cocoa
To send to the North of the world,
Without you being able to relish a chocolate bar yourself,
You who are the Lord of Creation.
And avoid Asia:
They’ll sell you as a slave to work 14 hours a day
Making carpets or shoes, footballs or toys
And you’ll play barefoot with rag-balls,
You who are the Lord of the world.
But above all don’t be born again in Palestine:
Someone will put a rifle in your hands,
Others a stone
And they’ll teach you to hate your brothers and sisters:
Jews, Moslems, Christians,
You who are sent by the Father
To give us His merciful love.
But…
Come and think of it, dear Jesus,
You would choose to be born in all these places.
Thanks!
Help us to le you be born truly in our hearts,
And to let us be reborn,
Little, innocent, and finally weak.
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)