MANILA, Philippines – Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle urged the Catholic faithful to celebrate Christmas in solidarity with the poor, the weak and the neglected.
In his Christmas message, Tagle looked at Christmas as a season to shed off illusions of grandeur, pretensions to self-importance, and the wickedness of self-interest.
“Christmas is never truly Christmas if we do not practice Jesus’ solidarity with the poor, the weak, and the neglected. Christmas is a season to see our own poverty, to see a companion in every person who suffers and to see Jesus in a needy brother or sister,” he said.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. FILE PHOTO
Christmas frees the poor from inhumanity and degradation, and proclaims the good news that the poor are loved by God, according to Tagle.
He added that the poor possess the dignity taken from God, and they could take their rightful place in shaping society as protagonists.
“May Christmas 2014 give us greater zeal to combat trafficking in human persons, new forms of slavery, neglect and abuse of children and violence against the helpless,” Tagle said in his statement.
For the Philippine Church, Tagle said November 2014 to November 2015 has been designated as the Year of the Poor.
Thus, he said Christmas 2014 has fallen within this most important event centered on the poor of the land and of the world.
“Jesus, though truly Son of God, emptied himself of his glory and prerogatives and became human, one of us,” he said.
“This is the mystery of Christmas: God becomes poor and lowly so that we could become rich in God’s life. By becoming human, Jesus has identified himself with every human being, especially the poor whose only strength is God. Christmas is never truly Christmas if we do not accept and imitate Jesus’ self-emptying poverty,” Tagle added.
The cardinal said that amid preparations to welcome Pope Francis with his message of mercy and compassion, “we pray that the celebration of Jesus’ birth bring much love and peace, especially to the poor of the land.”
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that more than the season’s trimmings, the gifts and parties, Christmas has always been a call on the Catholic faithful to “cross-over” and be with others.
“From where we are at present…we also need to cross over and find each one, showing everyone that we are all brothers and sisters,” he said in a post on CBCP website.
Explaining the meaning of Pasko or “pesach,” Villegas said it meant “passover” or to “cross over.”
“The meaning of Christmas is God has crossed over. The challenge of Christmas is that we, too, cross over,” he explained.
“From heaven, God crossed over to where we are. God has crossed over to our side and lived among us, and became like us and ate our food and walked on our earth…That is how much God loves us,” he stressed.
According to Villegas, Christmas in the Philippines this year carries an added reason for excitement with the apostolic visit of Pope Francis.
“Although we believe in faith that God is always with us, we also know in our hearts that the coming of the Pope to the Philippines is a renewed affirmation of the love of God for us. When Pope Francis comes, he brings to us Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God-with-us,” Villegas said in his Christmas message.
“The papal visit is Jesus in the Pope visiting Jesus in the Filipino. What a wonderful moment of grace!,” added Villegas, who is part of the central committee for papal visit 2015.
“Christ is in all of us…. Christ is in our poverty. Christ is in our prosperity. Christ is in our hunger. Christ is in our plenty. Christ is in our storms and calamities. Christ is in our progress and tranquility. Christ is in our dark nights. Christ is in our sunny days. Christ is always with us,” he said.
“Indeed that is the message of Christmas. God is not far beyond our reach. God has become small, small like a baby, to make it easier for us to reach him; to carry him; to hug him and caress him; to embrace him and kiss him,” Villegas stressed.
He also urged the faithful to thank God and beg him “to open our eyes and hearts that we may always see the wonder of His tender love everyday of the coming year in everything that happens, in every person we meet, in every moment of our lives.”