Ukrainian Greek Catholic Head Sends Christmas Greetings
Kyiv- Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on 30 November 2005 released his Christmas greetings for this year. The full text follows.
Highly Honored Bishops,
Respected Priests,
Venerable Monks and Nuns,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Peace in the Lord!
Dearly Beloved in Christ!
The Christmas holidays are coming. Among all the feasts of the liturgical year, Christmas differs by its family character. On the one hand, at this time we read and hear about the Holy Family - Mary, Joseph the guardian, and the newborn Child - Jesus Christ, and an event which is the happiest moment for any family - the birth of a child. On the other hand, in purely human terms, Christmas is a family holiday for everyone, because all the generations gather around the Christmas table: grandmother and grandfather, father and mother, children and grandchildren. They meet to feel family affection.
And what should we do if the family is large and scattered all over the world, like our Church is? I would like to embrace each of you, visit every house, join you at your Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, this is impossible. This is why I am addressing you with this written word to greet each of you, to wish you sincerely all the best, to feel the warmth of a large family feast together with you.
This feast fills us with happiness not only at this moment. When a child is born, all the family members gather and guess what this newborn person will be when he or she grows up. We do the same today. We meet beside the cradle, or actually near the manger of the newborn Jesus. We don't know what the future will bring us, because this is not a usual child, not only human, but the incarnate Only-Begotten Son of God who brings us happiness - God's love. Not only is He waiting for our love, affection and good will, as children usually do, but He himself gives us gifts and ensures us that as God and man he will bring us much good, joy, and faith in a better future, even if we think that this is impossible. Jesus Christ ensures us that what He promises and what He has come for is real, because He is God.
Beloved in Christ! I ask you to remember me and all the members of our family in God when you gather for your family dinner on Christmas Eve, just as you remember all your relatives.
Let me once more greet you on the feast of the Nativity of Christ and wish that you grow in faith at this time of the celebration of our Saviour's Nativity and feel that your heart is full of hope and joy.
Christ is born!
+ LUBOMYR
Source: www.ugcc.org.ua
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