CHICAGO POLICE s R - Chicago Cop.com

A
s WE APPROACH this Holy Season,
we are mindful of the great spiritual
event this beautiful day portraysthe
commemoration of the birth of our
Blessed Saviour. He comes to us in the
form of the Infant of Bethlehem with
outstretched hands to extend peace on
earth to men of good will. I should like
to say these words to all the men of our
Chicago Police Department and to ask
them as men in law enforcement to be
ever mindful of their great responsibility
in carrying these feelings of good will
throughout their daily lives as they perform
their duties.
Let it be our Christmas prayer that
strength and courage be given to all who
work for a world of reason and lawfulness
that the good that lives in every
man's heart may day by day be magnified
; that men will come to see more
clearl y not that which divides them,
but that which unites them ; that each
hour may bring us closer to a fin al victory
of man over his own evils and
weaknesses ; and that the true spirit of
this Blessed Season-its joys, its beauty,
its hope, and above all its abiding faith
-may live among us . May the Saviour's
Blessing of peace be ours to build and
grow and to live in harmony and sym.
pathy with others.
This is my prayerful wish and my
Christmas Greeting to all our police
officers and their families and to my
co-workers in the office of Police Chaplain.
May the joys of this Season fill
all their homes now and throughout the
new Year.
-Father Patrick J. McPolin
M y
PERSONAL GREETINGS to Superintendent
Wil son, the men and
women of the Chicago Police Department,
and my beloved colleagues, Father
Pat McPolin and Rabbi Bernard Perlow.
May the Grace and Peace of God
be with you all this season and may the
New Year be an experience of fulfillment
for your most noble desires.
God has given us a gift, his Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this season
that we who are Christi ans should
pause to contemplate God's gift, for we
are assured in Scriptures that our Lord
came to bring Peace among men.
Although we are offered the gift of
peace, there is no peace, because we are
too obdurate to accept it. We are indifferent
in our efforts to bring about peace
because it demands of us an attitude of
responsibility. We say, let him offer first
what deep down we feel we ought to
offer.
God has revealed himself as a patient,
wise, loving God. These displays
of concern are God's legacy for us. We
are obliged as the inheritors to employ
our gifts wisely-that is, to share ourselves
with others, for this is the most
noble gift a man may offer to another.
The most noble of all vocations is
that of service. We who are identified
with the Chicago Police Department
are involved in such a vocation. Can
we - may we - will we - make our
vocation more purposeful and more
meaningful by our adopting an even
more generous attitude towards those
whom we serve?
The measure to which we try to
faithfully serve others, as our God has
served us, is the measure to which we
shall be rewarded by a deep feeling of
personal fulfillment. God be with us
and bless our endeavors.
-Rev. Robert A. Holderby
ON BEHALF OF THE office of the Jewish
Chaplain and Jewish law enforcement
officers of the Chicago Police
Department I wish to extend heartiest
greetings to Superintendent Orlando W .
Wilson, Chaplains Reverend Patrick
McPolin, Reverend Robert Holderby
and all the members of the Chicago
Police Department, upon the forthcoming
Christmas holiday.
We join with you in this age of insecurity
and world turmoil, in prayer
for peace. May it be the word of G od
in Heaven to grant us strength of body
and tranquillity of mind so that we
might pursue our lives with contentment.
May it be the Will of our God in
Heaven to inspire us in the course of
righteous living, with brotherhood
among all men and fraternity among all
nations. We extend to our Jew ish coreligionists
in the Department joyous
greetings on the current festival of
H anukkah. May our hearts ever rejoice
with faith in humankind nourished
by faith in God.
-Rabbi Bernard D. Perlow
DECE MBER . 196 4 3