Christmas Eve is only seven days away as next Monday we will
be expecting for the arrival of Christmas, to celebrate the birthday of our
Lord Jesus Christ about two thousand years ago.
Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus and,
Easter, to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; are the most important
feasts in the Catholic tradition.
Christmas is a celebration that rises above any other celebration
because of its nature; because it reminds us of the virtues we can exercise
with our fellow humans and which we tend to forget we are able to. Buying and opening
gifts, eating plenty and so on; are good ways to celebrate, but they are not
the essence of the celebration. The core of the celebration is the incarnation
of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and His birth in a manger in
Bethlehem, in the poorest of the conditions, destined to rise to be King while
showing all the other kings and leaders out there, all the others exercising a
position of power, that to be a true King, it is necessary to humble, to be the
last among the last, because being last is the only place where the whole scene
can be appreciated to serve and not be served.
Christmas is a celebration of love, hope and charity and it
is not just any event which points to a date only to be set aside every year
same time same place.
Christmas is a celebration that comes full with goodness for
humanity, because it does not just mark one day but a season and a start,
because the whole season which starts with Advent prompt us to be better,
through humility and forgiveness, by loving God first over and above everything
and anything and our neighbor as ourselves and then to continue with that commitment.
Many stores are expecting to make their ‘Christmas’ by
improving their selling records of the year or by actually making the year by
selling what was not sold through it. The culture trend have forced the stores
to shy away from the celebration of Christmas turning them instead to celebrate
something they do not describe but which they call just ‘holidays’. The
preachers of multiculturalism have pushed the celebration of Christmas as a potentially
offensive event, because there are other cultures who celebrate other events
and they do not get as much attention, even if ours is a Christian nation and
therefore the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is with Easter, one of the most
important celebrations of the year. There are no other celebrations that match
Christmas as the celebration of peace and goodness for humanity, yet there are
those who feel threatened by the sole mention of the word.
There cannot be equivalence with other cultures events
because nothing can be matched with the coming of God as a man to save us all,
even if those who ignore God and His Truth; insist on diminishing the
celebration so that they can be above the truth of the love God has for all of
us. What part of ‘peace on earth’ can be threatening? Maybe it is the truth
behind it all as many are frightened by the truth.
Meanwhile, the crying of the poor is once again let be heard
because they, would not have any or not as many, gifts on the season, and so
the plea for charity will be loud and resounding only to be silenced after the
party is over and the poor will return to be poor and misery will be just a
matter of some and not all.
Christmas during war times, is a call for truce. A truce is
a momentary cease of hostilities. Is there anything sillier than a truce for
Christmas, only to allow continuing with the killing after the party is over? Why not make the effort to resolve the conflict
for good, as we are able to stop the fighting, while it is Christmas? Does not
that make it possible to talk instead of fight in the first place?
Jesus taught us all how to be a true leader, as He is the
Son of God. He was born poor and He died in the worst conditions and still, He
left us the most precious and lasting legate anyone in history could ever deliver;
the legacy of truth and love through humility and forgiveness. If we only could
grasp that simplicity and apply it not only during Christmas but in our
lifetime, gaining strength every year through the celebration of this most important
celebration when we happily sing… Happy Birthday Jesus!
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