Tamil Nadu

The Significance of Christmas...

Prayerful Wishes and Loving Greetings in the Holy name of Child Jesus! Wishing you a happy and healthy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year! May the good Lord be with you all around the world protect you and remain with you, all through the year 2008!

Nearly two thousand years ago the emperor Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of his Roman empire, which covered all the nations of the civilized world. Accordingly all persons living under the Roman emperor must go to their ancestral village to enroll their names. Joseph who was a carpenter, with his expectant wife Mary, set out from the village of Nazareth for the village of Bethleher I.1 which was eight kilometers south of Jerusalem and nearly 70 kilometers south of Nazareth, his town. Since Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral village, he went with full of hope that he would easily find lodgings among his relatives for Mary, particularly on account of her condition.

The almighty God who created the universe according to the description of the first book of the Bible Genesis, created man in a state of innocence and happiness and made him live in the paradise. But the first parents through their disobedience to the will of God lost their life in the paradise. Man, by his own effort, could not regain the lost paradise, which was a symbol of Heaven. Hence God promised the first parent that he would send his own Son, born of a woman to redeem the fallen human race. God in his appointed time sent an angel of light to a holy virgin in the town of Nazareth in Palestine, to announce to her his divine plan and asked her consent to bear the Word of God in her womb and give birth to the son of God. Mary was one of the ardent Jews waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the King of the Jews. When the angel announced to her that she would be the mother of the heavenly king she had shock of her life but when the angel assured her of God’s special divine grace for her, she willingly gave her consent by saying "Let it be done to me according to your word".

In this way miraculously Mary conceived the son of God in her womb through God’s special favour and action. When she was in full pregnancy the edict of the Roman emperor was published for enrolling the names for the Government census.

No room in the inn

Joseph went to Bethlehem and he was in search of some private place over there so that Mary could give birth to her child. Since the houses were filled with guests and relatives no body could accommodate them in his house. Then Joseph went to the public inn where he could find an accommodation if only he had some money to give the innkeeper. But he could not afford to pay the money. There was room in the inn for anyone who could pay; but there was no room for Jesus, the creator of the whole universe. Finally, out in the field, there was a lonely stable, where the shepherds used to shelter their sheep. Joseph and Mary went into the cave for shelter. It was there in the cold windswept lonely cave that Jesus the Son of God was born as a little infant. His birthday is celebrated throughout the world on 25th December, every year not only by the Christians but also by people of all religions. The feast of His birth is known as Christmas"

The Meaning of Christmas

God wanted to dwell with human beings, share their life’s condition and thus he wanted to elevate the lives of human beings to the level of the divine and that is why the name of the Son of God was called "God-with-us". Jesus was born as a human child in order to restore the human race all the lost wealth of life. There was no room for Jesus in the inn, but there should be room for Jesus in the cave of our heart for he makes a difference in our total life. He comes to bless the whole human race with peace and joy, life and light, holiness and wholeness. Jesus himself declared, "I came so that you may have fullness of life" (In. 10.10). That is why on Christmas day we greet one another "Merry Christmas". Let Jesus Son of God born of a woman in Bethlehem bless our entire endeavour so that we may have fullness of life.

May the divine child bless you and everyone in your family abundantly!