A child is born!

And so perhaps, it can be said that a child is born not as an answer to our perpetual search for meaning but more so to give meaning our deepest desire to honour and celebrate the sanctity of life and the gift of living.

It is thus most appropriate at this special time of the year for Christians of the world, that Courrier Laval Bilingual Edition welcome not only the birth of the Christ Child but also embrace the coming to an earthly life of all children born this past year, with a special offering of our outstretched arms to families and newborns who are near and dear to our hearts, living right here in Laval.

A new-born child by any other name, from any culture, and across all religions in any part of the planet will forever deliver the message that all human beings are equal in the eyes of God and eternity. In his or her innocence, vulnerability, dependency, and fragility, each newborn renews in humanity the dream of peace on earth to men and women of good will.

Protests or denials aside, it is obviously not because of physical strength that a child makes an impact on this weary worrisome world of wondrous contradictions, but by the eternal power of the soul, the spirit of human goodness that comes with birth and that too often gets lost in the daily grind of 'grown-up' life.

But let us not despair, for despite myriad reasons to justify giving in to some of the baser instincts that can easily flow from the darker side of the human condition, the innocent and loving child in all of us, no matter what our age, can triumph, given the willingness to work toward a return to the purity of purpose we were blessed with at birth.

And so, as it came upon a midnight clear, as so many believe, let us welcome all children born to Laval families in 2007, to a world full of faith, hope, love and charity towards all.