Madrid, Spain, Dec 3, 2007 / 10:19 am
Bishop Jose Manuel Lorca of Teruel and Albarracin called on the faithful this week to recover the true meaning of Christmas in response to the widespread disappearance of Christian symbols and the pretension to turn this date into just another feast.
“Open your eyes and see for yourselves how the Christian signs of Christmas are disappearing from the traditional Christmas cards. They don’t even mention the word Christmas,” the bishop said in his letter.
Bishop Lorca stressed that “there are many seductions to hide the Birth of God” and the disappearance of the signs of Christmas and their replacement by “stranger alternatives, under the pretext of modernity” can easily be seen. “On many balconies people hang the figure of an old man with a white beard and a sword drawn, and you can’t tell if he is coming in or going out,” the bishop said.
Likewise, Bishop Lorca said, “What is most serious is that they are taking away the dimension of family, in order to make it just another ‘holiday.’ Is there any way to fix this? What can you do to unite the family more?” Therefore, he asked parents, “As Christmas draws near, if you have the tradition of decorating your home, at least put up an image of Our Lord.”