The Meaning of Christmas

"Narrow is the path that leads to heaven but wide is the gate that leads to perdition."

Tonight I would like to offer a little reflection on the meaning of Christmas. For Filipinos, Christmas is very much an important part of our culture. It signals the long vacation for students and workers alike. It is also a time for family reunions. At the same time the religious significance of Christmas has always been an integral part of this celebration. We call it Christmas because it is the Mass of Christ. Jesus Christ being born in the manger offers himself to us as a gift, as the food that will sustain us to eternal life. Filipinos call the Christmas eve mass as Missa de Aguinaldo, or the Mass of the Gift. Indeed we are lucky that this Christian sense of Christmas is very much around us. The lanterns, the lights and the Nativity Diorama are displayed in public places, in public buildings, Churches and private homes. Today as we celebrate Christmas, I know that this is very significant because of the issues that confront our society. As Filipinos we consider Christmas as pertaining especially for children. Indeed the children occupies a very important place in the family. Since Christmas is about Jesus, Mary and Joseph, our people has find its identification with the Holy Family. But if we Catholics do not watch and stay vigilant, these cherished values of family will vanished in a short period and at a time we least expect it. Secular values such as "reproductive health", divorce, and abortion are starting to nib its way into the fabric of our culture. Not because we want it but because there are few people who are militant enough to introduce these western ideas that are not compatible with our culture. We value the family, we love the children and we are happy as a people. despite of our poverty and lack of formal social security, the family has served as our insurance. The insurer of our lives. When we get sick, or die or are in trouble, the whole family (extended family) exerts effort to be of help. Contributing whatever little they have in order to alleviate the misery and suffering of a family member. The Christian values of self-sacrifice is very much evident in the way parents rear their children, in the way the elders help other family members. These values are very much in contradiction with the western values of materialism and selfishness. Let us pray and make it our personal intention this Christmas, that Christ and the Holy family may bless and protect our nation from the culture of death. Amen.