Keep Christ in Christmas

Richard A. Sokerka

Before the Vatican held its annual Christmas tree lighting Dec. 5, Pope Francis expressed hope that the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square will be a reminder to all of what Christmas is truly about.

A Nativity scene “is a genuine way of communicating the Gospel, in a world that sometimes seems to be afraid of remembering what Christmas really is, and blots out the Christian signs to only keep those of a banal, commercial imagination,” Pope Francis said.

The Holy Father began Advent with a trip to the Italian town of Greccio, where St. Francis of Assisi created the first Nativity scene in 1223. In Greccio, Pope Francis signed the apostolic letter, Admirabile signum, on the meaning and importance of Nativity scenes.

“All those present experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist,” Pope Francis wrote in the letter describing the St. Francis’ first Nativity.

“As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realize that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him,” Pope Francis said.

Locally, the Knights of Columbus councils across the U.S. are following the Pope’s lead with their “Keep Christ in Christmas” program. It encourages councils to compel their neighbors to shift from a preoccupation with materialism to the light of Christ and the spirit of giving. “In a society where Christmas has often become shorthand for shopping, many who celebrate Christmas can lose sight of its true meaning,” Carl Anderson, supreme knight said. “Those who celebrate Christmas give gifts to each other because it is the day on which we celebrate the greatest gift: God’s gift of his son to the world,” he said. “Christmas is about ‘peace on earth toward people of good will’ and we think that’s a message worth remembering.”

Among the councils in our Diocese, St. Philip the Apostle Knights of Columbus Council 11671 erected and placed a “Keep Christ in Christmas” sign on the Valley Road lawn in front of the Paterson Diocesan Pastoral Center in Clifton.

All traveling down this busy thoroughfare cannot help but notice the sign that promotes the true meaning of Christmas.

In our secular society, it is ever more important to proclaim the “good news” of the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.