To the editor:
At this time of year I hear about people taking the “Christ out of Christmas.” Why? Because some anti-religious group stops a public Nativity scene. Another is that some people will use the greeting “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
What should really define this time of year for us is the feeling in our hearts. Do we only give gifts to get more? Do we only throw parties for public display? Are we only thinking of ourselves?
Have we even forgotten the reason we celebrate is Christ’s birthday? If so, then we have lost the spirit of Christ in Christmas. No number of superficial “Merry Christmas” greetings or oversized Nativity scenes can make our actions more Catholic and Christ-like.
Yes. There are atheist activists intent on denying displays of not just Catholicism and Christianity, but all religions. Those are the easy foes for Catholics to oppose.
Much more insidious are those that tell us that an objectivist philosophy of rationality and amoral self-interest is how not only we as individuals should live, but our society be governed. Those attacks are not on our outer displays, but on our inner faith in the teachings of Christ itself.
We should strive to put the Christ back into Christmas not just for a day, or even a season, but all our lives. How do we do that? How do we live to love and serve the Lord? It’s not complicated and Christ gave us the answer. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me.”
Live this and there will be Christmas in your heart every day of the year.
Ted Kaminski, Baraboo