- 2007 -
Christmas Pastoral Letter
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I write to you at this time, to express my sincere wishes for a Blessed, Holy and Happy Christmas for you and all who are dear to you. I ask that our Blessed Lord bestow upon you His choicest blessings and benevolent Providence, that you may draw closer to Him during this coming year and that all of your families may enjoy the Divine Protection and may share in the many gifts and bounty that He has provided for those who are His own in this world.
In an age and a world, where all mention of God seems to be discouraged and at times prohibited, it is imperative that we as Christians, never cease in our efforts to proclaim publicly both in our words and in our actions, the constant presence of Almighty God in our lives and in our world. Man can deny God’s presence and limit or restrict mention of Him, but he can never succeed in removing Him from the hearts and minds of those who love Him. Man and government can never succeed in removing the actual and real existence of God or preventing Him from being present or revealing Himself to those who are receptive to His Message of Love and Redemption.
During the last few years, I, like so many of you, became frustrated and aggravated at the over commercialization of Christmas…sales, decorations, music, etc. becoming visible sometimes even before Halloween, and becoming stale and irrelevant by the time that Christmas actually arrived. At that time I also found many of the phrases such as “Jesus is the reason for the Season” to be trite and just another attempt at commercializing the holiday. The images of Santa Claus kneeling at the Creche seemed an almost sacrilegious blending of the secular and the sacred, without any real meaning other than a new novelty for a few extra dollars. However, with the continual eroding during the last few years, of any semblance of religious sentiment or meaning in the “holiday” celebrations, (no religious carols, no “Christmas” trees, and in some cases not even Santa Claus [remember he was originally “Saint” Nicholas]) we have witnessed a backlash against the political correctness which has run amok in our society. The crying shame of this backlash is that all too often it is not the result of true religious conviction but rather a sense of nostalgia.
I have come to the conclusion that the phrase “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” is not only most appropriate and not trite, as I once considered it, but rather is perhaps in this day and age, even more appropriate and needed than the traditional Christmas greeting of “Merry Christmas”. As Christians, we must always remember that there would be no Christmas season, if it were not for the birth of the Christ Child.
Our children have been deprived of the knowledge of the ‘Reason for the Season”. They know the words to the songs: Jingle Bells; Deck the Halls; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, but how many of them know the words to the great hymns of the season: Silent Night; O Holy Night; O Come All Ye Faithful; Angels We Have Heard On High and all the other beautiful hymns which we have sung at this time for centuries. And if they have heard the hymns, or maybe know some of the words, do they know the true story which those hymns sing of?
Most of us will never be called upon to sacrifice our life in defense of our Faith and for publicly proclaiming our belief in Christ. We are not however absolved of our responsibility to defend our Savior and to proclaim our belief. In small ways we can share in the efforts and merits of the Martyrs, who did sacrifice their lives. If we remain silent in the face of “political correctness”, have we any right to claim the title of Christian, or to claim to be members of the same family of Faith as the Martyrs? Our sacrifice is minimal in comparison, but no less essential.
Thus, while I encourage you to celebrate these Holy Days [not just holidays] with your families and to enjoy the festivities, I also encourage and exhort you to stand firm in your Catholic Faith, and to share it with all you meet or come into contact with during this season. Attend Holy Mass on Christmas…remember that is where the very word comes from… the Christ-Mass celebrated on the Feast of His birth. Bring your children, grandchildren and everyone you can, with you. All are welcome. This is Christ’s birthday celebration, and no one needs a special invitation. If you wish to give the “birthday boy” a present, let it be your love, your loyalty, your presence, and your effort to make Him known to others. When you sit at the table to enjoy the festive dinner and foods, be sure to say Grace Before Meals, and to thank Almighty God for all of His gifts and benefits (most especially His only Son) which He has bestowed upon us.
Let the prominent figures of the Christmas story serve as examples for each of us.
May we be bearers of Christ in our hearts and in our lives as was His Blessed Mother Mary who bore Him in her womb and carried Him in her heart.
May we always seek to protect and guard the Christ Child, as His Foster-Father
May we proclaim our love and belief in Christ as did the Angels on that first Christmas night in
May we bear gifts as precious as those brought by the Magi: Faith and Good Works as precious in the eyes of the Lord as the Gold offered that night; our Prayers and petitions which Scripture tells us rise up as the Incense; and our works of Charity to bind up the wounds of a hurting world which knows not the healing power of the Christ-Child, as the Myrrh which was offered to preserve the health of the newborn Sacred Infant.
May we as the Shepherds in the Fields, bring as our most important and valuable gift to the Christ-Child, our own poor and humble spirits and selves, that we may be made rich by being united with the King of Heaven and the Son of Man.
And may we as the Holy Innocents, be ready and willing to lay down our lives for our Savior, even if it is only in reaction to the incorrect “political correctness” of our society.
When I was in Grammar School, the good Sisters would allow us during the Season of Advent, to place only a single piece of straw for each good deed into the stable, to prepare a soft bed for the Christ-Child to lay His head on. It was up to us to ensure that His bed would be full and soft by Christmas Eve, and only our good deeds would provide the way. It was a simple way to instill in young children, a proper understanding of the need for our preparation for the great event of Christmas, and to think of Another and not of ourselves. It is a lesson that has remained with me throughout all these years.
My wish for you is that the stable of your heart has been properly prepared as a clean, soft and full bed upon which the Christ-Child may rest. May you have a Blessed, Holy, Happy and Merry Christmas. May your prayer on Christmas Eve be the words of one of our beloved hymns: “Come into my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.”
God bless you and preserve you now and forever, and May the Joy and Peace of this Season be yours,
Archbishop Edward J Ford, TOR
Primate, The North American Old Roman Catholic Church
Jesus Is The Reason For The Season.
