Palma’s message ‘Making others happy is true gift of Christmas’

PALMA

Share the joy of Christmas. This was the message of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma as Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

In his annual Christmas message, the 66-year-old prelate encouraged everyone to remember especially the poor and the less fortunate.

“Like the shepherds, we too must share this joy of Christmas to others especially those who have been set aside by the greed and selfishness of society today,” he said.

Making others happy, he said, is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money.

“We can communicate this joy simply with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, and forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us,” Palma said.

He did not mince words in promoting life which he said is God’s gift to humanity.

“There is great joy in Christmas because this Jesus, who was born, gave us life in abundance. Thus, let us share this joy by protecting and promoting a culture, not of lawlessness, but mercy; not of death but life,” he said.

Like Jesus Christ who entered into human history through a family, Palma called on people to sanctify their families.

“He dwelt in a family. And such presence made holy the family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary. And so, as you celebrate this blessed season with your families and loved ones, I pray to the Lord that He will carve into your hearts the joy that only He can give,” he said.

The Solemnity of the Lord’s birth celebrates the mystery of the incarnation by which Jesus humbled himself to become a human being.

An eight-day period or octave of Christmas ends on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, the mother of God.

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord falls on January 8, the end of the Christmas season.

For Cebuanos, however, the spirit of Christmas lingers all the way until the feast of the Sto. Niño which falls on January 15, 2017.