Christmas brings God's immense love

Christmas marks a celebration of God's immense love for all of us and it is also an invitation to receive once again God's gift of peace, said a Christmas message issued by the Catholic Bishops' conference in Sri Lanka. The entire message is as follows:

"We celebrate once again the Feast of Christmas which is the birth of Jesus Christ, the Divine Redeemer. It is the celebration of God's coming into our midst in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus comes with his gift of love and peace.

The scripture attests that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). At the first historical birth, the angels announced: "Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favours" (Luke 2:14). It is, therefore, a celebration of God's immense love for all of us and it is also an invitation to receive once again God's gift of peace.

In this year, we celebrate the birth of the Saviour having overcome the climate of violence that oppressed all of us for a long period of time. There is a glimmer of hope that the darkest hours of grief and despair are behind us. We thank the Lord for the measure of peace we enjoy as we are now able to go about our daily tasks without danger and threat to our lives. However, we still have a long way to go in the realization of lasting peace.

Those responsible need to work towards a political mechanism that ensures peace with justice for all sectors of our Sri Lankan society. All of us citizens of Sri Lanka, whatever religious ethnic group we belong to, have a role to play. We need to treat with dignity and respect all human beings irrespective of caste, creed or race.

For, the celebration of Christmas obliges all of us to share his gift of peace with everyone as peace is the essential message of Christmas. It is necessary not only to identify the obvious dangers to peace but also the insidious dangers to the restoration of peace in Sri Lanka. We should now in unity and harmony strive towards a new dawn of peace. Let us, therefore, be agents of peace and share with all our brothers and sisters the gift of peace he has brought to us and be resolute in working towards the realization of lasting peace in our nation aware that peace is not simply the absence of war or violence. God who assumed flesh in Jesus of Nazareth was born in a manger in Bethlehem.

The simplicity that surrounded his birth needs to be an inspiration to all of us living in a climate of increasing consumerism and greed. As we celebrate Christmas in this year 2010, we find that there is also the widening gap between the rich and the poor in which the poor are becoming poorer. The celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth calls us to pay particular attention to the poor and to do all we can to relive them of their burdens. While we do so, we need to do whatever is possible in our capacity to be rid of all those patterns that lead our people to increasing levels of poverty and suffering. Those of us who enjoy various material benefits of this world need to thank God who is the author of all gifts and be determined to use these many gifts not only for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of the poor.

May our celebration of Christmas be a time of sharing of God's gift of love and peace particularly with th e less privileged and alleviate the pains of those who suffer due to poverty and various ills of our society.

The journey ahead is difficult and arduous. Therefore, let us earnestly beseech the Prince of Peace to bless our country and all our people.

We wish all our faithful, religious, clergy and all our fellow citizens a joy-filled Christmas."