Christmas is fast-approaching, and people especially kids are looking forward to its celebration, not to mention the gifts they're expecting. It's unfortunate that commercialism has permeated Christmas through the ages. People think that Christmas is not Christmas if no spending is done, perhaps lots of food and presents. I was disappointed when even priests are snared by this trend. I recall an activist priest last month, perhaps trying to exaggerate the bad economy under the president he loathes, saying that we will have a black Christmas because people will not be able to afford even a small feast for the occasion. Of all people, a priest should know better than that. The best way to celebrate Christ's birth is to be with him spiritually, which of course should radiate to the neighbors. Attending mass (with right dispositions) is the best present we can have; incidentally, the word Christmas originated from concatenating Christ and Mass. Physical things are good to have, but they are only secondary to the real gift--the baby Jesus.
Quoting from the ZENIT News Agency (Zenit.org) from its 11 December 2005 issue, Pope "Benedict XVI encouraged the faithful to overcome the commercial contamination of Christmas by rediscovering the Child Jesus, the Son of God made man out of love." He specifically encouraged the "tradition of setting up a Nativity crib in homes as a way of presenting the Christian faith, especially to children." The authentic spirit of Christmas, he noted, is "characterized by recollection, sobriety, a joy that is not exterior but profound." This Nativity scene, started by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223, the pope clarified, "still keeps its value for evangelization today. The crib can help us, in fact, to understand the secret of the true Christmas, because it speaks of humility and the merciful goodness of Christ, who 'though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor' ". To receive ZENIT News Services (World seen from Rome) by e-mail, FREE Subscription at: http://www.zenit.org/english/subscribe.html.
Merry Christmas, Folks!
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