By: Romano M. Bulatao, Ph.D.
During this Yuletide season all over the world, the song’s famous lyrics tune up with the atmosphere, saying, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” In the Philippines, “Christmas is in the air” in September, the start of “ber-months.” Indeed, most people from all walks of life are preoccupied with how to celebrate Christmas day. Preparing to celebrate Christmas is different from preparing ourselves to celebrate Christmas meaningfully.
Christians worldwide are blessed to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ every 25th of December each year. As Christian believers, we unite our inmost beings to participate in the mystery of the Incarnation. Christmas is a joyful celebration with grateful hearts that “the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.” Because of God’s love for all humanity and the rest of creation, He decided to enter history: our very space and time. He humbled Himself for our sake. God became human, so we can learn from Him and truly understand ourselves. He brings the good news, the Reign of God, where we experience Justice, peace, and prosperity. Anything contrary to His good news is obviously not in line with the will of God.
Post-modernity provided us with a more challenging situation that might blind us to seeing Christmas’s real meaning. It is characterized by an “anything goes” kind of attitude. All can be ways towards a particular destination. But most of these ways offer nothing but uncertainty. Where we are today amid multiculturality and globalization provides a venue for opportunity to live out our faith. The spirit of Christmas is an excellent opportunity to reflect on its essence of providing the certainty that God never failed to love us throughout history.
God’s love was, is, and in the days to come, never hindered by our frailties. Christmas is not about us; it’s about Him who became one of us except for sin. This season God gives us a chance to be more loving people than before. All the activities, as well as actions that we do during this season, are the things we have prepared to celebrate Christmas are good in themselves. But it would be better or even best to put meaning in all our activities and actions, that is, putting Jesus Christ as our reason.
I came across a greeting posted on Facebook with the following simple message:
To my Claretian confreres, family members, relatives, partners in mission, friends, and co-journeyers: A BLESSED CHRISTmas!
Simple yet profound that Christmas is “CHRISTmas,” which literally and essentially means more of Christ and less of ourselves. Less of ourselves, more of Christ, and for the people He loves the most: the lost, the least, and the last. As stated in Matthew 25:40, “… Truly I say to you: whenever you did this to one of these little ones, my brother or sister, you did it to me.”
Have a meaningful CHRISTmas to all!
About the Author
ROMANO MACARAEG BULATAO completed his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (AB Philo.) in 1990 at the Claret Formation Center (now Saint Anthony Mary Claret College or SAMCC), Quezon City. He finished his Master of Arts in Religious Studies (MA Rel. Stds.) in 2003 and his Master of Arts in Philosophy (MA Philo., cum laude) in 2014, both at Saint Louis University (SLU), Baguio City. He obtained his degree, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Theology, Major in Missiology, at the Saint Anthony Mary Claret College (SAMCC), Graduate Department, [Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA)], Quezon City. From the Academic Year 2006 to 2009, he served as the Department Head of Religion at SLU, and Dr. Bulatao is a professor in the same department. He served as the Kapatirang Claretiano Inc. – Pangasinan Chapter (KCI-PC) president since 2011. He is the author of the book Touching Thoughts A-Z, published in 2009, and the translator of the Novena to Saint Anthony Mary Claret (from the Pangasinan language to English), published in 2015. The Novena kay San Antonio Maria Claret (from the Pangasinan language to Filipino) was published in 2020 by Claretian Publications.
