Fr. Ryan Jimenez, in his homily, asked Mt Carmel Cathedral parishioners to be thankful for the “gift of freedom and life” that other individuals do not enjoy.
“At this concrete moment of our human history, our planet is witnessing many violations of the principles established and set by the declaration,” Jimenez said.
As the lighted candles were passed on by deacons, songs of praise and adoration were sang.
In a statement read during the Mass, the church stated that, “this commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be a new call and a new beginning for us this Advent, awakening our consciousness and our consciences to the many justice issues in our lives and in our world today.”
“There is a dramatic and appalling contradiction between the content of the declaration and the way we humans live our relationship among ourselves and with the whole of creation,” the church statement added.
Jimenez encouraged the faithful to affirm their support for basic human rights for everyone.
Sixty years ago, on Dec. 10, 1948, Jimenez said men and women gathered for the signing of the historic document that declared that all people have rights, and that there is an inherent worth and dignity in every human person.
In lighting the candles, he noted, they were honoring Human Rights Day while anticipating Christ’s coming light that gives hope to all humanity.
“We light this candle for those whose hope is faint at best; for those whose basic human rights are or have been denied,” he said.
Candles were lighted “for all the victims of abuse in any shape and form — emotionally, spiritually, or physically, in our families, islands and in our world.”
