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7/31/2019 The Christless Christmas
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The ChristlessXmas vs.Christmasby Reverend Dr. Doru Costache
They say we need to let us be simply
absorbed by the spirit of Christmas I
wonder what that may mean. Some say itsabout a family feast, yet I know of manyfamily feasts which dont really have a name.
Others say its a moment when one goes out to meet with their friends, yet
again I know of many such opportunities without them deserving a name.Others again say its about letting us be absorbed by the exuberant spirit ofcelebrating no-matter-what, where from the offensive anagram Xmas.
Finally, others say its about shopping! The Grinch undoubtedly exults
For Christians, however, it is never a purely human event at the core ofChristmas and its never Xmas. Christians know that it is not just their
ephemeral joy at stake, nor another reason to eat, drink and have fun no
matter with whom and in what circumstances. They know that this is ourLords birthday, Christs feast, whose meaning and significance go farbeyond having fun with family, friends or no-matter-whom-else. To
them, Christmas is the opportune moment of renewing our commitment to
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a renewal which takes first thepain of dealing with the fasting period and then to let us be absorbed bythe liturgical rhythm of the festal celebration. Christmas is also, and
consequently, a season of remembrance of who we are and are called tobecome, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Everything else comes after.
It is a matter of fact that all our existential failures reside ultimately in our
inability and unwillingness to acknowledge God and his mercy which wasbestowed upon us through the incarnation of the Son of God. In and
through the ritual we learn to uplift our hearts from everything in order toacknowledge how everything is a gift coming from above; in and through
the ritual we learn to give thanks to our life-giving Lord; in and through theritual we learn to embrace all with divine love and compassion, since there
we learn and manifest the fact that we are sons and daughters of the sameGod, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The secular, Christless, Xmas cannot last. The mystery of Christmas brings
to the receptive souls the ineffaceable joy of renewal as sons and daughters
of God, by the presence of Christs Holy Spirit, the one who enables us
to call God Father. What is it that we celebrate?
Parish priestPEACE AND HARMONY
anulXXXII
D
ecember2007
NEWS FROM THEROMANIAN
PATRIARCHATE
His Beatitude Daniel became the
sixth Patriarch of the Romanian
Orthodox Church. We wish His
Beatitude a long and fruitful
arch-pastoral service.
The Holy Synod of the Romanian
Orthodox Church has decided the
establishment of the Romanian Or-
thodox Diocese of Australia and the
New Zealand