CHRISTMAS PASTORAL LETTERS

Let us dedicate ourselves to the Holy Family

To Our Reverend Clergy, Religious and God-Loving Faithful:

Peace in the Lord and our Apostolic Blessing.

Christ is Born! - Let us Glorify Him!"

With great joy and great solemnity we observe this Holy Day, Christmas, which marks the birth of Jesus Christ, and remains a most distinct sign of God's infinite love for us. God so loved us that "He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16).

Our souls are created to respond to this love, "my soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Ps. 42:2), for "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 Jn. 4:16). For this reason, then, St. Augustine, after his conversion, in the beginning of his profound work, "Confessions", affirms "Our hearts, O God, were made for you, and will not rest until they rest in you" (I, I).

After the fall of our first parents, the human heart still longed for this love of God. In response, the Son of God who "loved us to the end" (Jn. 13:1), came down from heaven to restore us to this source of love, God's love, to our true happiness. The star of Bethlehem announced to all the world the coming of the incarnation of God's love to earth, and the heavenly angel, that blessed night, announced the "great joy" (Lk. 2:10), to the shepherds watching their flocks in the fields of Bethlehem. Let us too, hasten to Bethlehem, to join them in adoration of the Newly Born Christ Child, the incarnation of God's love. This Blessed Child graciously extends His hands to us, as if to say, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28).

The Holy Child of Bethlehem invites all to Holy Confession at Christmas, so that through this sacrament we may "find rest for our souls" (Mt. 1l:29). Only with peace and love in our hearts can we take our place at the Christmas Eve Supper, prepare worthily for the Holy Day of Christ's Nativity, which in keeping with the tidings of the Angel, is to be "a great joy which will come to all the people" (Lk. 2.10). The expression of this supernatural joy is the angelic carol, a melody of that Holy Night which resounded above the sleepy fields of Bethlehem, "Glory to God in highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased!" (Lk. 2:14).

Thus our Divine Savior wishes, on the day of His coming to humanity, that in our hearts as in our families, "His joy" be present, and that our "joy may be full" (Jn. 15:11). Seven hundred years before this Coming, the prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, joyfully proclaimed, "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us; Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation" (Is. 25:9).

The saintly Evangelist affirms that the shepherds, having heard this message from the angel, hastened to the stable in Bethlehem, and there "found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger" (Lk. 2:16). The Son of God, then, willed to take human form in a family, and in consequence, the Holy Day of his Nativity has become a family holy day. All members of a Christian family joyfully experience in their hearts God's love and grace, gifts brought to earth by our Divine Savior. Especially through the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony, He continues to abide intimately in every Christian family.

This year, during this Christmas Season, we conclude the International Year of the Family, which was proclaimed by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, on February 2. His Holiness issued a special "Letter to the Family" for this special year. In this Letter, the Vicar of Christ emphasized that the Holy Family should be an "icon and example" for every family, especially for the Christian family. In accordance with this intention, I, as your spiritual father, turn to you with this Christmas Pastoral, especially to the Ukrainian family, with the prayer that the Holy Family always be an "icon and example" for your family Iife.

We must always bear in mind that the Creator of every family, just as of the Holy Family, is the Lord God HimseIf. He "created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27), so that in the bond of mutual love they may "become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). Blessing them, He said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen. 1:28). Every child, then, is for its parents a blessing of God, a gift from God. The birth of every child is a revelation of life, as explained by St. Irenaeus (+202), every child is the "glory of God" (Against the Heretics, IV, 20).

The physical formation of new life, according to the design of the Lord God, is achieved by the cooperation of parents, both husband and wife. "A man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Gen 2:24). The human soul, that is, the "breath of life" (Gen. 2:7) can be received only from the Lord God (2 Macch. 7:22). Parents, then, in bringing a child into the world, must humbly acknowledge, with Eve, that they have received a child with the help of the Lord (Gen. 4:1). No one in the world, therefore, has the right to take life, not even of the unborn, for the Lord God has already "breathed life" into it, and through Christ, that child is destined "to have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn. 10:10). A child is a gift of God to the family, and the family, then, must be a sanctuary for life.

Only God, therefore, who instituted marriage and established its appropriate fulfillment, can determine its norms; this is all the more evident when we realize that Christ raised marriage to the dignity of a Christian Sarament. In this manner, Christian marriage also becomes the reflection of a "great mystery" (Eph. 5:32), in which the Son of God "loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25). In a similar manner, the love of Christ must be the source and basis of married love. In this love of Christ, there is revealed the depth and beauty of mutual and faithful love, with which the Lord God enriches and sustains the hearts of Christian spouses. It is only this love of husband and wife, ready for every sacrifice, that becomes true conjugal love, love as "strong as death" (Song of Solomon 8:6), which guarantees the indissolubility of marriage (Mt. 19:6).

We are reminded that this faithful and self-sacrificing love came to humanity through the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus, as a most precious gift to every Christian family, teaching every such family to be ready for even the greatest sacrifice, and when necessary, following the example of Christ Himself. This love is identified by the Holy Spirit as "sweeter than honey" (Sirach 24:19). The Church exalts the Virgin Mary as the "Mother of beautiful love." It is just this love, beautiful and faithful unto death, which "many waters cannot quench, neither can floods drown it" (Song on Songs 8:7) that the Lord God requires of spouses for the establishment of family life and the Christian formation of children. Since this devoted love is a unique gift of the Lord, spouses must encourage and support each other in a pure, godly and dedicated life based on the norms of the Gospel.

Presently, family life is threatened from all sides. Christian parents, therefore, more than ever must be living witnesses to our holy faith, and give evidence through their lives to the sanctity and permanency of marriage.

They should courageously defend the dignity and rights of the family. This is achieved, first of all, through the Christian education of their children. Parent are God's appointed first teachers of the faith and exemplars of Christian living. It is necessary, therefore, that parents establish in their homes a Christian and pious atmosphere, supported by common prayer so that each home becomes a domestic church, which is strengthened and blessed by the presence of Christ as was the humble home in which He lived in Nazareth.

To provide the home with this atmosphere of a domestic church, an immemorial custom exists among our forebears to place icons in a place of reverence in the home. These icons were decorated with embroidered cloths and flowers, and surrounded by candles or vigil lamps. Each evening, all members of the family would gather in common prayer before the icons. The lighted candles or lamps reminded them of the living presence of Christ, the "quiet light," that assures everyone that "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt. 18:20).

This common prayer transforms the Christian home into a truly domestic church. This atmosphere is conductive to the growth of piety, respect and mutual love. The Christian family is thereby formed "by God's power" (Pope John Paul II), and following the pattern of the Holy Family, grows "in favor with God and man" (Lk. 2:52), keeping itself "in the love of God" (Jude 21). Such a Christian family can then become a source of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, as a blessing for an entire nation.

As we prepare to share in the traditional Christmas Eve supper, we should commend our family to the care of the Holy Family, with these words:

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you descended from heaven to enlighten us not only with the Good news, but also with the sublime example of your earthly life. You chose to dwell in a humble home in Nazareth, and obedient to your creation - the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. There, you sanctified the Holy Family through your hidden life and presented it as holy example for all Christian families. Graciously take us under your protection and sanctify our family as well, which we dedicate to you in love, through the intercession of your Most Holy Mother and your most chaste Guardian, St. Joseph. O most gracious Jesus, bless our famiIy with your bountiful favors, protect it from all harm, and help us to lead a truly Christian life in peace and love, for the eternal glory of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I extend this joyous greeting to you, beloved in Christ, on this observance of the Nativity of Our Lord, and especially to all Ukrainian Christian families in our pastoral care. We fervently pray that all our families dedicate themselves to the care of the Holy Family, and following their example, daily gather in prayer before their holy icons, so that their home may truly become a domestic church in which Christ dwells permanently with His love and blessings.

The blessing and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Christ is Born! - Let us Glorify Him!

Ý Stephen
Metropolitan-Archbishop

Ý Walter
Auxiliary Bishop

Given in Philadelphia at the Metropo-litan Cathedral of the Immaculate Mother of God on the Feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, 1994

We must welcome Christ into our hearts

Beloved in Christ:

I ask the Holy Spirit for words of guidance and healing; words of life to turn the tide in this crucial moment of history. I understand the Holy Father, Pope John Paul ll, and his concern that the world is heading for a moral disaster. In every generation, Christians are involved in a spiritual "unseen warfare," and it makes a great difference which side each one of us chooses.

We need guidance and words of truth. We are all starving for "words of life." Those "words of life" are the words of the Holy Gospel; the words of the newborn Word. We are not craving empty words, but for the living Word of God, "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (Jn 1:14), so that we might live forever with Him and His Heavenly Father.

When the young virgin Mary accepted the Annunciation and said "Let it be done to me as you say" (Lk 1:38), she was ready to serve in any way God might choose. Are we ready for the Word of God to become incarnate in our lives at any moment? Can we say "It is no longer I who live; it is Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20)?

All the riches and comforts of this world belonged to the Son of God, but He did not claim them. Jesus freely chose to be born in absolute poverty, cold and deprivation, to grow up as a "have-not." We must not organize our lives by what we "have"; what matters is what we are. External "success" fades away so quickly; what matters are values that will last.

When Andrew and John, the two youngest disciples, met Jesus they asked, "where do you stay?" (Jn 1:38). The time they spent with Jesus was unforgettable. It gave their whole lives a completely new direction. Do we take Jesus seriously in our life, when Jesus gives us unexpected suffering or joy? Do we take Jesus seriously in those around us, at home or at work? Do we listen for Jesus inviting us to real holiness? Are we impatient to share the joy of meeting Jesus with all those around us?

Jesus looked at the rich young man and loved him (Mt 19:16-29). Jesus offered him the deepest, everlasting happiness. But the young man went away sad; he expected to find happiness in money, prestige and social position.

Do not go away sad! Do not expect happiness from things that vanish even faster than we expect them to! Do not expect happiness from the phony enjoyments that the media constantly impose on us!

Christ has come from heaven; go and meet him (St. Gregory; In Theophania; Christmas Canon, Ode 1). He has come to us; we must go to him; we must welcome Christ into our hearts, with love and dedication. Jesus does not insist that we always succeed; Jesus still loves us even though we are sinners. Jesus wants our love and commitment. Let this be our gift to Jesus this Christmas.

May God bless each of you; may God bless each family in particular, that this Year of the Family may bring your family greater, more secure appreciation for the gifts God gives you in your love for each other. May the Holy Mother of God give you her own maternal love and protection. And may the joy of the Christmas feast abide in your hearts throughout the year.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Basil
Bishop of Stamford (New York/New England)

Given December 9, 1994
Feast of the Conception of St. Ann

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 25, 1994, No. 52, Vol. LXII

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