Catholic Archbishop in Angola Urges Concrete Solidarity, Courageous Hope During Advent Season

“Do not hide your face from the difficulties of the world,” he said, adding that Christian mission demands fidelity “even when it implies suffering.”

He emphasized that Advent is only fully lived when it produces visible gestures of fraternity—gestures that include those who do not share the Christian faith. 

“We are one Family of God's children,” he said, urging acts that “transform reality” and spread hope where discouragement prevails.

The Catholic Church leader likened charity to “the foundation of the Christian journey,” and a mother who forgets her own pain to reassure her child. 

A Christian smile even in suffering, he said, is a powerful testimony. “Where a Christian face smiles, death dies. Where death dies, life reigns, because Christ is present,” he said.

He encouraged the faithful to resist discouragement, noting that contemporary society often appears marked by disillusionment. 

Archbishop Dias insisted that God continues to “walk with His children” and desires to “soften everyone's path.” 

True hope, he said, is rooted in trusting God’s guidance, especially in difficult times.

Reflecting on the biblical image of the washing of feet, Archbishop Dias underscored Christ’s humility, saying Jesus “did not cling to His divine condition” but entered the world vulnerable and ready to serve. 

Christians, he said, must imitate this humility to live an Advent of reconciliation and self-giving.

The Catholic Archbishop reminded believers that every Christian is called to bring “peace, healing, and consolation” to those who suffer, spreading hope especially “where pain threatens to suffocate life.”

The 67-year-old Catholic Archbishop reaffirmed the need to keep hope alive, cultivate Christian joy, and strengthen communion as a path of synodality.

Meanwhile, the Apostolic Nuncio in Angola has urged the people of God to embrace the Advent season with responsibility, maintaining vigilance, discernment, and ethical commitment in every dimension of life.

In his first Sunday of Advent homily at St. Mark Parish of Luanda Archdiocese, Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel emphasized that this period of waiting is an invitation to deep reflection and to evaluating both personal and community journeys.

“Advent is not only a time of expectation, but a moment of active preparation in which each Christian is called to live with attentiveness, prudence, and coherence,” Archbishop Dubiel said.

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He added, “Advent invites us to integrate faith, ethics, and action, cultivating the virtue of discernment to always choose good and avoid evil,” he said, stressing that this is a call to all the faithful, regardless of age or social position.”

The Polish-born diplomat urged the people of God to reflect on their priorities and strengthen their spiritual lives through prayer, meditation, and service to others, in light of contemporary challenges, including the erosion of values. 

“Discernment and vigilance are not merely theoretical concepts but practices that help us live fully and consciously, drawing us closer to the presence of God,” he said.

Archbishop Dubiel continued, “As we await the second coming of Christ, we must commit ourselves to building a more just and fraternal world, beginning with our own lives and communities.”

The Archbishop explained that “Christian life is not limited to isolated religious practice but is manifested in building just relationships, in commitment to truth, and in social responsibility,” adding that “the mission of every Christian is to bring the presence of God into every sphere of life, transforming realities through concrete and conscious actions.”

He emphasized that “every Christian is called to be a light in the world and to bear witness to the presence of God in every action.”