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Christmas messages

President emphasises on peace, equality, liberty

President Mahinda Rajapakse's Christmas Day Message

At this Christmas held in remembrance of the Birth of Jesus Christ, the attention of the Sri Lankan Christian Community as well as the World Christian Community is particularly focused on Peace. We are aware that Lord Jesus Christ had preached thus; "Blessed are the Peace Makers for they shall be called the Children of God".

In a message issued by the Most Reverend Archbishop to mark this year's Christmas Day His Lordship has stressed the importance of treading the path of peace, thereby avoiding war or confrontations.

We have already embarked upon a mission of peace which is a fundamental tenent of Christianity. This sharply contrasts with the path we have so far trodden to achieve the elusive peace. This is, indeed, the path of peace shown to the Multitude by the Lord Jesus Christ.

According to the Bible, once a disciple came unto the Lord and asked Him how many times should we forgive a sinner, then the Lord had answered that we should pardon him not seven time but Seventy times Seven.

Of course, we have already been correctly judged for our patience. The Christian Community who celebrate Christmas today are well aware that we had exercised patience for more than Seventy times Seven.

It is an obligation cast upon the Christians who genuinely value peace to cultivate the virtue of patience as preached by the Lord. It is, indeed, the wish of all the Christians who enjoy peace and celebrate the Christmas Day to achieve peace, equality and liberty for the sake of posterity.

We should pay the same attention as was done by the Lord Jesus Christ to the today's child who will be the future generation tomorrow.

A Child who asks for bread must not be given a stone; Likewise, a child who asks for a fish must not be given a serpent because the emergence of a society where equality and liberty reign, depends on how well children are treated by us. Where there is equality and liberty there is verily a heaven.

It is by bringing children closer unto you and receiving them one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And the Jesus Christ had said thus - "whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receive me". Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

May this Day be a Happy and Merry Christmas for those children as well as for you.

Let's hope for peace - PM

"At a time when our country and other parts of the world are faced with the threat of terror, let us hope peace would dawn on our country and the world on this Christmas" says Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka in his Christmas message.

The full text of the Premier's message is as follows:

Christmas is one of the most important days for Christians. It is a period when the message of peace is brought forth to the world. Baby Jesus was aptly named as the Prince of Peace. On this significant day let us all dedicate ourselves to achieving a lasting peace to our country and the people in a spirit of goodwill and understanding.

"Last year around Christmas time on December 26th the country faced the worst disaster the country ever faced due to the Tsunami tidal waves. Therefore I am certain that during this Christmas season the attention of the people would be dedicated towards the welfare of those who suffered due to the tragedy.

The devastation caused by the tsunami affected all sections of the people and the people of the country came forward to provide relief and other services to the victims irrespective of caste, creed or religion. This augured well for the future well-being of the country."

"At a time when our country and other parts of the world are faced with the threat of terror let us all hope peace would dawn on our country and the world this Christmas. If all people live according to the teachings of their respective religions there would be no terrorism or dastardly acts. Compassion and Kindness is the basis of every religion.

There cannot be peace in the world without those attributes. Therefore it is essential that every human being lives according to the teachings of one's religion."

"I wish all Christians of Sri Lanka and the rest of the world a Happy Christmas"

Colombo Bishop wishes a meaningful Christmas

Bishop of Colombo, Rt Revd Duleep de Chikera has said: "The message of Christmas offers a vision and spirituality of hope for Sri Lanka". Below are the excerpts from the Bishop's Christmas message:

Christmas reminds us of God's initiative in entering human history as a human. The incarnation, or the mystery of the Divine taking on human nature, is not an isolated event about God's humility only. Neither is it a promise of God's presence with people for after the birth of Christ only. It is much more.

It is a profound manifestation and assurance that God's presence amongst all humans has been from the beginning and will continue till the end. The incarnation is historical in that it is pivotal for past, present and future. This means that all human history and culture has been touched by the Divine and is sacred. Christmas therefore is an affirmation that God is with all our people who suffer and are deprived and that no one ought to be despised, violated, exploited or excluded.

"The pragmatic thrust of Christmas is the call to deliberately move beyond sectarianism and to enter the fears, frailty and aspirations of the other. This must be done with respect for the other's identity. This inevitably leads to misunderstanding by one's own and entails risks. Yet it is as courageous and visionary leaders and people incarnate this way that true reconciliation and true Community will emerge."

"It is from this perspective and spirituality of Christmas that the total inadequacy of war, violence and intimidation as methods for setting dispute is perceived. Decades of conflict, estrangement and animosity have taught us that you cannot expect to destroy the other without destroying all.

Lasting Peace comes when those who contend for freedom and political space, the rich and the poor and the different cultures meet and talk differences, forgive each other and become sisters and brothers.

There is no better option for integrated peace." "The message of Christmas offers a vision and spirituality of hope for Sri Lanka. Ironically hope takes on meaning in desperation. It is in desperation that the present anticipates a changed future.

It is in desperation that grace abounds and points to the possibility of transformation. It is in desperation that Christmas invites us to co-operate with God who in Christ is reconciling God's world, which includes our beloved Sri Lanka."

"I wish all our people and leaders a meaningful Christmas. May Christ our Hope for Peace, Influence our behaviour, values and aspirations and may we collaborate for peace for all."

United we shall prosper - Archbishop

Archbishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis in a Christmas message says 'United we shall prosper divided we will certainly perish. In our celebration of Christmas we cannot forget all the cure realities and overlook the sufferings of our own brothers and sisters, the Archbishop further says.

The message:

It is with a certain degree of mixed feelings that we celebrate Christmas this year. While the traditional joy of the festivity remains strongly in us we cannot forget the current concerns that keep vexing our people at this crucial moment of our Country's history.

On the one hand there is the growing tension on the ethnic issue. Recent incidents in the north and the east do not augur well for peace. On the other hand the sad memories of the disastrous tsunami last year still keep lingering very much in our minds.

Afflicted by these two disasters there are thousands still lingering in temporary shelters and detention camps both in the north and in the south. Therefore, in our celebrations of Christmas we cannot forget these cruel realities and overlook the sufferings of our own brothers and sisters.

The very purpose of the coming of Christ was to redeem this sinful situation on earth. It is written in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ was "sent to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the lord's year of favour." (Luke 4/ 18-19) Furthermore Christ is referred to as the Prince of Peace. If this were the mission of Christ and the purpose for which he came on earth, it would be a sad reflection for any Christian to celebrate Christmas obliterating this ultimate objective for which Christ came.

No doubt Christmas is a moment of joy and celebration, But turning this event into one of pure revelry and festivity to the extent of losing its spiritual significance is pure profanation. Therefore, we should emphasize the religious significance of the event and give it first place performing our due religious observances connected with the Christmas celebration.

It should be our primary concern during the religious observances to pray for our country. As aforementioned we are in a crisis situation as regards the peace process. Therefore we should all plead with the Price of Peace for peace in our land.

The whole octave of Christmas provides us with an opportunity for prayer. Our octave of prayer could climax with the feat of Mary the Mother of God, which is also the World Day of Prayer of Peace. I appeal to all our priests, religious and lay faithful in the Archdiocese to make this day, the 1st January 2006 a special day of prayer for peace.

We cannot celebrate Christmas this year without being mindful of our brothers and sisters struggling as yet to recover from the ravages of last year's tsunami and the prolonged ethnic conflict. This should prompt us to keep our celebrations moderate and see how far we could still contribute to relieve their suffering.

We could take this opportunity to extend whatever possible assistance, financially and otherwise, to help them. While we celebrate here we cannot afford to forget that there are thousands of our own that are in pain and agony deprived of their livelihood and decent habitation. It is not enough for us only to pray for them. While we do so we should also try to restrain our extravagant celebrations and contribute our mite to help them.

While I propose to our Catholic community to take note of the above recommendations I take this opportunity to appeal to all persons of goodwill and especially to our political leadership to unite in a joint effort to pull the country out of the present impasse.

The future of our country will depend on the unity and dedication of our present political leadership. United we shall prosper - divided we will certainly perish.

I wish you all a happy Christmas filled with the blessings of the Prince of peace.

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