On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama released a statement regarding persecuted Christians at Christmas.

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During this season of Advent, Christians in the United States and around the world are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  At this time, those of us fortunate enough to live in countries that honor the birthright of all people to practice their faith freely give thanks for that blessing.  Michelle and I are also ever-mindful that many of our fellow Christians do not enjoy that right, and hold especiall y close to our hearts and minds those who have been driven from their ancient homelands by unspeakable violence and persecution.

In some areas of the Middle East where church bells have rung for centuries on Christmas Day, this year they will be silent; this silence bears tragic witness to the brutal atrocities committed against these communities by ISIL. 

We join with people around the world in praying for God’s protection for persecuted Christians and those of other faiths, as well as for those brave men and women engaged in our military, diplomatic, and humanitarian efforts to alleviate their suffering and restore stability, security, and hope to their nations.  As the old Christmas carol reminds us:

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men.

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FORUM: The Newness of Christmas

Here is the latest column from Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, republished from the Southern Nebraska Register.

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Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, in which we remember that God became man for our sake, in the humility of being born a baby, in the poverty of a small stable, in the tiny town of Bethlehem, 2,000 years ago. 

We celebrate Christmas because the Incarnation of Jesus changes everything about being human. Because Christ has come, we can share in the divine nature of God, we can live forever, we can love as God loves. 

We celebrate Christmas because through Christ’s Incarnation—and his passion, death, and resurrection—we can be set free from the chains of sin and death, and adopted into the life of eternal Trinity.

We celebrate Christmas with traditions that are familiar and beautiful. We worship God at Holy Mass. We gather with our families to feast and exchange gifts. We sing familiar songs, and celebrate the warmth and conviviality of life in Christian love and friendship.

For some people, the experience of Christmas can begin to feel stagnant—simply the commemoration of what has been, set apart from the reality of what is now. And for some people, of course, Christmas can be a difficult celebration. At Christmas, we often remember those loved ones who have gone before us: parents and spouses who have passed away. We gather with those we love, and for those who have lost the ones they love, Christmas can come with a stark sense of being alone.

But for most of us, Christmas often evokes a familiarity, a joyful optimism, a sense of warmth, recollection, and nostalgia.

We can, however, risk complacency in the comfortable familiarity of Christmas. We risk losing the profundity of the Incarnation in the sentimentality of the season. And we risk losing the radical meaning of the Incarnation in the familiarity of our holiday traditions.

We do not celebrate Christmas merely to remember what God has done in history, and to remember the joy of Christmas celebrations of the past. We celebrate Christmas because God wants to enter our lives and hearts anew—in new ways, ever deeper, ever more profound ways. 

Four hundred and fifty years ago, St. Charles Borromeo preached that “each year, as the Church recalls this mystery, she urges us to renew the memory of the great love God has shown us…. The Church asks us to understand that Christ, who came once in the flesh, is prepared to come again. When we remove all obstacles to his presence he will come, at any hour and moment, to dwell spiritually in our hearts, bringing with him the riches of his grace.”

Christ is prepared to come again, into our hearts, to fill us with the riches of his grace, and to call us to a deeper response to the challenge of Christian discipleship. This Christmas, as we celebrate in familiar ways, we should also pray for, and seek out, the unfamiliar: new promptings by the Holy Spirit, new calls to missionary discipleship, new kinds of friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And to prepare us to encounter Christ in a new way, we should commit, at Christmas, to remove the obstacles to his presence. We should confess our sins with heartfelt contrition and gratitude as we examine our habits, choices, and consciences. We should consider the obstacles in our lives to unbounded charity.  As we celebrate Christmas, we should ask the Lord to reveal to us what we might change in order to let Christ “come again” into our lives.

And we should ask the Lord to reveal what we might do to prepare for his final coming, his return to the earth in glory, which will come without expectation, and which will come whether or not we have sufficiently prepared.

Christmas is the memory of his coming, the reality of his coming here and now, and the anticipation of his future coming—his return to this world—in glory and exaltation.

TS Eliot wrote:
The child wonders at the Christmas Tree:
Let him continue in the spirit of wonder
At the Feast as an event not accepted as a pretext;
So that the glittering rapture, the amazement
Of the first-remembered 
Christmas Tree…
So that the reverence and the gaiety
May not be forgotten in later experience,
In the bored habituation, the fatigue, the tedium…
So that before the end, the eightieth Christmas
(By “eightieth” meaning whichever is the last)
The accumulated memories of annual emotion
May be concentrated into a great joy
Which shall be also a great fear, as on the occasion
When fear came upon every soul:
Because the beginning shall remind us of the end
And the first coming of the second coming.

The beginning—remembering and celebrating the Incarnation—should remind us of the end—that Christ will return in glory, and in judgment. And it should remind us of the present—that Christ wishes to come now to us, to draw us into his life, and to prepare us for eternity.

As we celebrate Christmas—the entire holy season of Christmas—let us rejoice in the comfort and familiarity of our traditions. But let us ask the Lord, who desires to come into our hearts—to make all things, even Christmas, beautifully and profoundly new.

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Christmas Greetings From Patriarch of Jerusalem

Here is the text of the annual Christmas greeting sent by Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal.

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Dear Friends,
Dear Faithful of the Holy Land,

To all of you and those dear to you, I wish you a Christmas full of joy and blessings!

To our dear journalist-friends, thank you for your presence here today.  Thank you for the valuable work, which you carry out with openness, freedom and wisdom, best guided by a continual concern and interest for the Truth.

In a few days we will celebrate the birth of Christ; Christmas, the mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of the Eternal Word who “became flesh and dwelt among us”.  Christmas, the feast of the Light, that shines in the night, a celebration of joy, hope and peace. Children of the world dream of a wonderful celebration with gifts, lights, decorated trees and crèches.  However, and I repeat the same words of Pope Francis, everything is distorted “because the world continues to make war”.  This famous “third world war being fought in pieces”, which he speaks of so often, is unfolding before our eyes in our region.

I- Violence

–  What a suffering it is, to once again see our beloved Holy Land caught in the vicious cycle of bloody violence!  What a pain to see anew, hatred prevail over reason and dialogue! The anguish of the people of this land is ours, which we cannot ignore or disregard.  Enough!  We are t ired of this conflict as we see the Holy Land sullied with blood.

To the Israeli and Palestinian leaders we say, it is time to show courage, and work for the establishment of a just peace.  Enough of stalling, reluctance and false pretenses!  Respect international resolutions!  Listen to the voice of your people who aspire for peace, act in their best interests!  Each of the two peoples of the Holy Land, Israelis and Palestinians, have the right to dignity, to an independent state and sustainable security.

–  Alas, our situation in the Holy Land resonates that of the world facing an unprecedented terrorist threat.  A deadly ideology based on religious fanaticism and obstinacy is spreading terror and barbarism amidst innocent people. Yesterday, it was Lebanon, France, Russia, the United States; but war has been raging for years in Iraq and Syria. The situation in Syria is also at the center of this crisis; and the future of the Middle East depends on the resolution of this conflict.

These terrible wars are driven by arms trade, involving several international powers.  We are facing a situation of total absurdity and duplicity.  On one side, some speak of dialogue, justice, and peace, while on the other hand promote the sale of arms to the belligerents!  We call to conversion, these unscrupulous arms dealers who may be without conscience, to make amends.  Great is your responsibility in these devastating tragedies, and  you will answer before God for the blood of your brothers.

Military response and the way of force cannot solve the problems of humanity.  We need to find the root and cause of this scourge, and to tackle them. We must combat poverty and injustice, which may constitute a breeding ground for terrorism. Similarly, we must promote education on tolerance and acceptance of the other.

– The Church and the community of believers also have to respond to the current situation. This response is the Jubilee of Mercy, inaugurated on December 8 by Pope Francis. Mercy is the remedy for the ills of our time. It is through mercy that we make visible to the world the tenderness and closeness of God.

Mercy is not limited to individual relationships but embraces public life in all its sectors (political, economic, cultural, social), at all levels (international, regional and local) and in all directions (between states, peoples, cultures and religions). When mercy becomes a basic component of public action, the world can be transformed from the sphere of selfish interests to that of human values.

“Mercy is a political act par excellence, provided the policy is set in its noblest sense, of caring for the human family beginning with ethical values, of which mercy is a principal component opposed to violence, oppression, injustice, and the spirit of domination.”

During this Year of Mercy, we invite pilgrims to visit the Holy Land.  Upon the invitation of the Holy Father, we opened a Holy Door, a Door of Mercy in designated Churches in the diocese: the Basilica of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth and the Church of Saint Catherine in Bethlehem.  Pilgrims should not be afraid to come. Despite the tense situation in this land, the pilgrim route is safe and they are respected and appreciated by all sectors in the Holy Land

II- What to do?

– We also believe in the fundamental value of education. How can we ever forget the bitter struggle to uphold our Christian schools in Israel? How can we not thank all who participated, the parents, children and teachers? A number of political leaders and officials, including Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and several members of the Knesset, have worked for this worthy cause. They have shown a commitment to education offered by the Christian schools that is open to all citizens without distinction, and based on fraternal principles, dialogue and peace.

– This interfaith perspective brings me to the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, probably the most revolutionary document of the Second Vatican Council. This declaration lays out the foundation for dialogue between the Church and non-Christian religions.  Here in the Holy Land, this dialogue is of paramount importance where difficulties exist, but it is necessary to continue to hope all the more, to the viability of a Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue.

I also commend our St. James Vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics, which celebrated its sixty years of existence.  It continues to work for Jewish-Christian dialogue, and in generously serving the migrant communities.

III. Christmas celebration this year

– The current political situation suggests for moderate celebrations and deepening our spiritual sense of this remembrance.  For this reason, we invite every parish to switch off Christmas tree lights for five minutes in solidarity with all victims of violence and terrorism.  Similarly, our Christmas Mass will be offered for the victims and their families, that they take to heart, the participation in the joy and peace of Christmas.

– The Patriarch’s Solemn Entry

Since the beginning of this month, and together with the Custody of the Holy Land, we have created a committee to reorganize the solemn entry of the Patriarch into Bethlehem on December 24.   Several measures have been carried out so that the arrival of the procession in Bethlehem is not delayed and in an orderly manner in the Manger Square and the area of the Church of the Nativity. A place for journalists and photographers has been designated.

I would like to conclude by thanking Pope Francis for several reasons.  First, for the canonization of the two Palestinian saints last May, and subsequently for the Synod of Bishops on the Family, to which I had the joy of participating; for the Motu Proprio simplifying the process for the nullity of marriage; for the historic Bilateral Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine; and finally for his encyclical “Laudato Si” on major issues for our planet and humanity, the care for our common home, for creation and protection of the environment.

Conclusion

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.  They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (Is 9:5)

Dear friends, the birth of Christ is a sign of the Mercy of the Father and a promise of joy to us all. This message shines upon our wounded world, to console the afflicted, the oppressed, and to bring about conversion to violent hearts.

A blessed and joyous Christmas to all!

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Merry Christmas From the Custos of the Holy Land

Here is the Christmas message from the Custos of the Holy Land, Franciscan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

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“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone” (Is. 9,1).

We are living at a difficult time when the recurring events of tragedies and violence fill us with fear. The description of the end of times, which the Liturgy has proposed before the beginning of Advent (Mk 13,24-32) seemed to be an echo of what is now happening, and which is rendering it difficult to await Christmas with sentiments of joy, in a festive atmosphere and in a celebration of life. Fear seems to be dictating our way of life, even in our small daily actions. Above all, we have fear of the other, as if we have lost the courage to believe in the other. 

We do not trust one another any longer and we are tempted to close ourselves in our small circle of interests. We are afraid of the Muslim, of the Jew, of people coming from the east or from the west, according to where we are presently living. Our enemy has become “the others”; we think that “the others” are against us, that they threaten us and that they rob us of our hope in a sec ure world, in a better future.

In Syria, in Iraq, in the Holy Land, in the East as well as in the West, it seems that the force of violence has become the only possible voice that can fight against the violence which overshadows us.

To wait for Christmas in these circumstances is a way to interrogate our faith and to make us need the birth of a greater hope. These are the sentiments that have accompanied us when participating in the various ceremonies linked with the lighting of the Christmas tree and the blessing of the Crib. Often, during the celebration of the feast, we could hear around us the sirens sounding the alarm, a sign of conflicts and disorder. We have always recognised in ourselves a sense of inadequacy with respect to the situation. It seemed that we were living outside time and history.

This is not the case, however. The Gospel tells us that the fullness of time has been realised during a difficult moment, when John was in the desert inviting people to prepare the Way of the Lord and preaching a baptism of conversion. The feast, the lights, the colours, although necessary, desired and celebrated in the circumstances in which we are living, should lead us to think more profoundly on the original sense of Christmas: God enters into our time and into our history. He enters into the time and the history in which we live today.
 
Christmas tells us that God loves life, that He himself is life. This truth is the definitive and true reason to continue living on this earth. This is a time to search for authentic motivations, for the ultimate reasons to continue living and hoping. These are the reasons and motivations that endure, that give the sense of just measure, of a real horizon, and do not succumb to oscillating phases of our anguish and exultations. This is the time to look for questions and answers, for orientations. It is the time to rediscover the Orient.

This East is Christ, Man and God. Christmas recalls us, therefore, to this Orient.

Christmas tells us that our life is an Advent; that we are living oriented towards a future, which maybe dramatic, tiresome, but in which – we are certain – we can meet Him. Christmas tells us that this future, for which we are so preoccupied, this future, which begins now, has already began: it is Jesus, who is born, dies and rises from death.

We are not walking towards emptiness, towards the unknown, towards darkness, but towards something which has already happened and which will remain, which is always in the process of being realised and which, anyhow, we will never be able to destroy even if want to do so.

We are journeying towards an encounter.In this way, the difficult time will, at the end, become a good time, as it will restore to us the awareness that this is a time of encounter, revealing our need for something which is different from ourselves, rendering us more attentive to the persons who live side by side with us, because the future towards which we are journeying can only be the realisation of each and every relationship which we have nurtured, here and now. Even in these dramatic circumstances.

My wishes this year are that we can walk with trust along this road, which opens in the desert of our many lives and leads to a good future, a future with a unique Face: the Face of the mercy of the Father, who waits for us always and with faithfulness, even today.

Merry Christmas.