Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas (cbcpforlife.com photo)
With Christmas becoming more commercialized each year, a Catholic Church official on Monday encouraged Filipinos to reclaim its true meaning by never forgetting the real significance of the season.
In his Christmas message, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that Christmas is about a poor couple, Joseph and Mary, having difficulty finding a room in Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world, on that glorious night more than 2,000 years ago.
鈥淐hristmas is a feast of faith. Without faith, [it] will only be a social festival,鈥� Villegas said.
鈥淐hristmas giving is only a commercial gimmickry for profit and business gain [and] wishing 鈥楳erry Christmas鈥� without faith is no better than fools laughing madly without reason,鈥� Villegas, vice president of the Catholic Bishops鈥� Conference of the Philippines, added.
Villegas鈥� message echoed the theme of the Christmas message issued by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Saturday.
In that message, Tagle encouraged Filipinos to renew their faith in God this holy season.
Without faith, Tagle said, 鈥淐hristmas will be emptied of its meaning.鈥�
In his own message sent from the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Villegas observed that today, the holy season has become just an adjective to describe parties and聽 bonuses 鈥渂ecause we have forgotten that Christmas is an event of the past that must still continue to happen through us.鈥�
鈥淐hristmas has become a season for festive lighting and amazing carnivals,鈥� Tagle said.
鈥淸P]eople have forgotten how difficult it must have been for Mary and Joseph to find a room in the inn鈥攖he [poor] couple continues to be rejected in our broken homes,鈥� he said.
Villegas pointed out that聽 Christmas carols have been replaced by songs about missed loved ones and that caroling has metamorphosed into yearly fundraisers because people have put a price tag on 鈥渁lmost everything and everyone.鈥�
鈥淸P]eople have forgotten the angels that announced [Jesus鈥橾 birth, the sweetest carolers of all time,鈥� he said.
The traditional simbang gabi鈥攁 novena of Masses celebrated at dawn鈥攊s also slowly turning to be just another feature of Christmas in the Philippines, with Filipinos forgetting that it was originally a thanksgiving novena for the gift of Catholic faith, 鈥渨hich we now ridicule and ignore and consider obsolete,鈥� Villegas said.