Let us spend this Christmas with the poor - Archbishop of Colombo

In his message to mark Christmas, Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith calls upon the Christians to spend their Christmas with the poor, taking note of the country’s severe economic crisis. 

Following is the Archbishop's Christmas message in full:

When the parents of Jesus prepared for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, they go looking for accommodation in an Inn and find that the Inn is filled. There is no space for them. So they have to find accommodation and they accommodate themselves in an abandoned manger where animals and shepherds sometimes come and it is there that he is born in the cold night. He has no clothes to wear. So therefore, in swaddling clothes he is wrapped up by the mother and he has no cot or bed on which to lie down. There is hardly anybody to welcome him. Only the humble and the poor shepherds come to see him. 

All this shows that even though he is the mighty son of God, he prefers to be born in poverty. There is a question today in our society – what is richness and what is poverty? It is a situation which most of the people experience. Therefore, it is important for us to understand that poverty is not a curse. Indeed it can be a blessing and richness need not be a blessing but can be a curse too. Therefore we, especially we Christians, we have to remember that the birth of Jesus in this humble manger calls upon us to understand that life is so transient and that happiness comes, not from what we possess, but from what we share with others. 

This Christmas, in our own country, there are many people who have become poor because of the existing economic problems facing our land. It is said that 8.1 million people are on the fringes of starvation. If that is so, we cannot celebrate Christmas only on the basis of externals and eating and drinking and merry-making and unconcerned about the others. Christmas has to be a moment of sharing and extension of our help to the poor because Jesus deigned to be born among the poor, worked and lived as a poor person because he cherished the freedom of the poor. 

Therefore, this Christmas, let us spend the Christmas with the poor. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka has made an appeal, especially to the Christians to spend their Christmas not in extravaganzas because it is not a time for extravaganzas. Let us spend the Christmas with our brethren who are most seriously affected by the situation that is existing in our country. Let us invite them to our homes, share what we have with them. Let us give them whatever we can give and make their lives at least on that day, a happy one. This is the way we can honour and respect the Lord who is born in the manger. 

Let us understand that Christmas is not having, but being. It is difficult to be, but it is easy to have. But what we have does not last long, but what we are is what lasts long. 

Let us share our Christmas with our brethren and make them even in the smallest way possible happy. Whatever sacrifice we make to make them happy will bring us immense joy that cannot be bought with money because whatever we can buy in the marketplaces with money in order to enjoy Christmas will have no meaning unless we learn how to make the life of our brothers and sisters a joyful one and in that giving, let us experience the love of God.