CHRISTMAS

Comments from St. John Paul II

“In spite of the grief that sometimes penetrates into our lives, 

Christmas is a ray of light for all, because it reveals to us God’s love and makes us feel the presence of Jesus with everyone, especially with those who are suffering. 

Just for this reason Jesus willed to be born in poverty and in the abandonment of a cave and to be laid in a manger.

There comes to mind spontaneously the memory of my feelings and of my experiences,”*… 

“beginning with the years of my childhood in my father’s house, through the difficult years of youth, the period of the second war, the world war. Yet even in the worst years, Christmas always brought some ray with it. And this ray penetrated even into the harshest experiences of contempt for man, destruction of his dignity, and cruelty.” 

(Address to Young People, December 27, 1998)

*[blogger’s note: St. John Paul’s experiences included the loss of his mother when he was only 8 years old, and the loss of his older (by 14 years) brother—a young physician—a few years later, with whom he was particularly close. This left his father and himself alone in the family. His other innumerable difficulties included the Nazi occupation of his native Poland during his university and seminary years, and communist rule over his home country for decades…]

May we be mindful of Christians around the world that are currently suffering much as he did during Nazi occupation and Communist rule. They need our prayers and intercessions. And we can become and remain most, most grateful that we are free to follow, enjoy, and appreciate the blessings of a country that still allows free worship, even as some situations may be less than we desire, far from what we prefer, and the subject of fervent prayers.

These quoted comments on Christmas from Saint/ Pope John Paul II are taken from Listening to God with Blessed John Paul II, compiled by Amy Welborn for the Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2011, p. 87.