Chairman Emeritus Oscar M. LopezPeace to all men of goodwill... the angels did sing on that first Christmas Day when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born to become man and be our Savior. Peace and goodwill... both seem to be in short supply then as now. Over two thousand years after that glorious day, humanity still doesn’t get the message of that first Christmas.

Yet, we never fail to be enchanted by the idea of Christmas. The concept may have been more commercialized in recent years than we want to, but the spirit that enchants us about Christmas stays in our souls. Peace and Love may be lofty goals few of us really get to know but the thought keeps us going. Once a year regardless of age or social status, we go back to the Christmases of our youth when things seemed much simpler and when peace and joy somehow resided in our hearts.

The past year had been turbulent for world economies but here in our country, we seem to have had relative peace. A new administration determined to do things right through the straight and narrow path has given us reason to hope for a better outcome for our futures. But the challenge for a better tomorrow is not the responsibility of P-Noy alone but is something we all have to meet together. As we take a break this holiday season, we need to ask ourselves what have we done to bring peace in this world through our immediate relationships with family, friends and society.

Indeed, we all need to be men of goodwill so we can experience peace in our times. If we want to change the world, it can only happen if we all started to change our own little worlds. If we all strive to enchant people we are in contact with every day, making an effort for them to trust us... to like us... we would be that closer in realizing that promise of the angels at the core of our continuing enchantment with Christmas.

In other words, keep the Christmas spirit alive every day of the year and sooner than later, that elusive peace will happen because there are so many more men of goodwill around.On behalf of my family, I would like to wish all our kapamilya in the Lopez Group all the blessings and joys of the season. May the enchantment of Christmas live in us all days of the new year!

OSCAR M. LOPEZ
Chairman emeritus, Lopez Group