Our Lord showed us the true spirit of humility when He was born in a humble manger surrounded by farm animals and shepherds. Yet the whole of heaven burst forth in joyous celebrations, capped by the singing of heavenly angels heralding the dawn of salvation for the whole mankind.Today, as we celebrate this momentous occasion, let us not forget the true spirit of Christmas. Christmas is giving love and sharing our blessings with the less fortunate of our brethren.
Christmas means praying for those who are sick in body and soul, those who are suffering from extreme hunger while we wallow in sumptuous feasts on our dinner table.
Christmas means praying for peace and harmony in our world full of violence, strifes, hatred and intolerance.
Christmas means praying that our world and industry leaders do something to arrest the growing and unabated global warming of our planet.
Christmas means changing our world view and perspective in life from one of unbridled greed and avarice, to a giving and caring spirit, one that beats with compassion and love for our fellow men.
Too long have the evil spirits let loosed by Satan have wrought havoc to the minds and souls of mankind. They are the spirit of avarice and greed, of licentiousness and lust, of unbridled quest for power, of the spirit of hatred, violence and strifes, of the spirit of the insatiable quest for all the riches of the world irregardless of the consequences to other humans and the environment, the spirit of wanton exploitation of our natural resources to the detriment of our future generations.
Thousands of people especially children die everyday because of extreme hunger and starvation and due to untreated illnesses because of extreme poverty.
Unconsumed food and food wastages from affluent countries thrown everyday to garbage bins are more than enough to feed those who are so hungry and those who are dying of starvation in the world.
It is so pathetic to see that pets of rich people in the world eat more expensive and nutritious food than humans in the impoverished countries of the world. How my heart bleeds whenever I see beggars and starving children in my own country scavenging for food in waste bins of fast food restaurants.
How can we be so callous of heart? Do we know that millions of people in impoverished countries of Africa and Asia could hardly eat one square meal a day? Do we turn a blind eye to the fact that millions of vulnerable youths, as young as eight years old, work in veritable slave houses and sweat shops, forced to do adult work with nary or little pay, and imprisoned and guarded in congested and unventilated quarters?
As we celebrate in lavish partying and gorge on unending food and drinks, have we ever stop to consider how many young girls and boys, so tender in age, are lured to child prostitutions by unscrupulous syndicates catering to pedophiles and sex perverts?
Let's give love on Christmas day and everyday of the year. Let us pray for our less fortunate brethren. THAT IS THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS!
The Christmas Song - Celine Dion
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Inspirational
23 comments:
hi Mel, right on point, as always. and don't forget the movie actors & atheletes who get paid astronomical ridiculous amounts of money. there's enough money in this whole wide world to take care of every hungry person, every starving person, every homeless person, every person who doesn't have health care or adequate health care. i could go on and on.
i hope you and your family enjoyed your Christmas. i think you're ahead of us in your time there; i keep forgetting. i'm spending a quiet day here, but i'm so thankful and grateful to Jesus for His love and my salvation.
i changed my blog name & URL, so you'll have to change my info in your links Mel.
That was wonderful and so heartrending.It takes a beautiful soul to know such thoughts.Thanks for sharing the lovely song as well.
Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family my dear friend.May God Bless You always and may all your dreams and aspirations come true.TC.
P.S. I am holidaying in India by the way :)
Hi Sylvia aka Heiresschild,
We share the same passion for the lost creatures of God. We hearken to the admonition of the Lord when he wanted that "none should perish." And so we go on with our evangelistic crusade to share the Gospel of salvation, love, joy and peace to the world. We had a simple yet meaningful Christmas celebration here. No funfare, no frills. I just wish I had more of the material things in life because people just keep on knocking at my door and I could share nothing to them. I shared whatever little I had with those who were really in need and to others, I just offered my prayers for their blessings from the Lord. By the grace of God, I am planning to resume my mercy ministry to the less privileged in our depressed community. I am praying to the Lord that He bless me with better health and a little more financial blessings so that I can effectively minister to those who are really in need spiritually and financially. Thanks for spiritually linking with me in our efforts to spread God's love and joy to others. God bless you and your family and your ministry too. May He bless everything that your hands will touch and answer every prayer that you utter. Have a wonderful and pleasant celebration of the holiday season there.
Hi Sameera,
Thanks for your visit and for your wonderful and inspiring comments but to God be the glory. It is always a joy when you visit my blog and whenever I read your inspiring messages. They are food for the heart and soul. I'm so glad that you are vacationing in your beloved India. Enjoy every minute of your stay there and reestablish your bonds with your loved ones and friends. They are your sources of strength. And when you come back to Dubai, do resume the inspiring posts that you make that give joy, hope and inspiration to others. Use your God given talent as a gifted writer to make our planet a better place to live in by dwelling on topics rich in values and inspiration. BTW, be sure you compile all your short stories. They are book materials for a future best seller. Mark my word for that. You have the making of a great story teller. You have a distinct style all your own, very unique and compelling. May you enjoy the best of the holiday season. God bless and have a most wonderful and peaceful day in your beloved India. By the grace of God, I hope I can visit India in the near future. Ciao.
Have a great Christmas!! I hope God Showers his blessings on you!!
I love the song you posted!
Enjoy!!
Hi Mel Avila,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your wonderful comments.
Ok, you don't speak and write Portuguese, but...today you can visit again my blog, because I wrote in english language.
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. God bless.
Merry christmas....very thoughtful....well if only these imaginary boundaries between countries were erased.....then it will be a whole world not a piecemeal political landscape.....and empathy will be for humanity and not merely fellow "countrymen"....utopia I guess is what I am dreaming about :)
merry christmas my friend to you and your entire family....
Hi Raaji,
Thanks very much for your visit and for your warm greetings. I will be visiting your blog as soon as I finish all my chores for the holidays. Thanks again. God bless and have the best celebration of the holiday season.
Hi Kalinka,
Thanks for your visit and for your inspiring comments. Yes I will be visiting your blog as soon as I finish all my chores for the holiday season. Thanks for posting in English. Thanks again. God bless and have warm and wonderful holiday season in beautiful Portugal.
Hi Ceedy,
Thanks for your visit too and for your very profound comments and insights. I'll be visiting your blog very soon my friend. Just bear with me as I grapple with all the holiday hassles at home. Thanks again. Enjoy the very best of the holiday season. Have a wonderful day in the US.
Hi MEL
Hope you have a gr8 x-mas and may God bless you and family always.Mel, thanks for sharing this wonderful and meaningful on x-mas.I enjoyed reading it and it makes me understand better on the meaning of x-mas though I've been celebrating it for 23years (mix-parentage's fmly some are moslem/christian)...you know what I mean!
I also love the way you make each of your entry with gr8 selection of songs pertaining to the topics...kudos for that.
Happy holidays and new year to you and family.Psst psst..my birthday is coming(31st dec):)
p/s no wonder I couldn't go through to Sylvia's blog...:(
Hi Noushy,
Thanks for your visit and for your usual warm greetings. You alway make my day. I'm glad you had a great Christmas celebration and also your celebration of Eid too. We had our own simple but meaningful Christmas celebration ourselves. Don't worry, I remember your birthday and I have something for you on that day. Here's a toast to the coming New Year and to your coming birthday. God bless and have a wonderful and warm day in foggy and chilly London.
Yezza!!You're a legend Mel! I'm glad to have known you as a friend.You too of your postings and inspiring words always make me happy and really appreciate the friendship that we have through this blogosphere.
Yes,may God bless all of us and yeap, a toast for my birthday and coming new year!! yeh yeh, wonder what's that something for me;)
Take care Mel.
You know Mel, I constantly thik about this, and in this season is when I think it most.
I'm one of the almost-poor people here in Argentina, but if I can do somenthing for those who are more missfortuned than me, I don't doubt to give a friendly hand to them.
You know, Arthur and me joined 'cause we feel true, pure friendship, though Arthur comes from an almost-rich family, he and me really enjoy when we are together.
So, I thank God fro putting Arthur in my life, and putting me in Arthur's life. Maybe Arthur has lots of money, but I'm his only friend here in Argentina.
Thnks for your visits to our blogs Mel. God bless you forever.
Greetings and hugs
Nice Day, with my whole soul:
Gusthav
Excellent post Mel and so true! I feel guilt about having so much in comparison to the others around the world. I do know what it is like to be hungry and cold and not have enough clothes because i went through some lean years with my mother when I was 12-14 yrs old. It taught me compassion and not to judge others because we never know...these things can happen to anyone and do.
I joke on my blog a lot about Christmas trees and lights etc but I am always aware of what the real meaning is...God loving us so much that he came down to live with us so we could learn his message and experience his love.
May you and your loved ones have a blessed, healthy and joyous 2008!
Have a wonderful and happy new year to you and your wonderful family (pic) - it has been a pleasure reading your blog and sharing thoughts - and your generous and meaningful comments are helpful for young one like me to create smg better and better
Keep up this good work.
Also technically you will have the new year few more hours than I will and I will have the old year few more hours than you will.....
Hi Noushy,
Thanks again for your visit and for your usual inspiring comments. You always make my day. It's has always been a pleasure to have a friend like you. As we face another year, we can look forward to many more fruitful and meaningful exchanges of thoughts and inspirations that will surely make us a better person, able to inspire and motivate other people. I have something for you on your birthday although it's not something material or extravagant. Just wait for it. He, he, he, *lol* Sorry if I have not visited you with the same frequency as before. My kids are on holiday vacation and they hogged the computer all day long and I have to make do with a little sparse hours in the wee hours of the morning when they're all asleep already. Happy Birthday again and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to you. May this coming year bring you all the joy, peace and happiness in your heart. God bless and have a cuddly and warm day in chilly and foggy London. Triple Brrrrrrrrrrr.
Hi Gusthav,
Thanks for your visit and for your very poignant and meaningful comments. You're not poor Gusthav. You're rich in God's graces and blessings. Material riches should be the least of the things that should make us happy. In fact, it can give us insecurity and hardness of heart. For the more we strive for riches, the more we become greedy and callous of heart. You're fortunate to have a friend in Arthur. I'm sure you miss your soul brother who is vacationing right now in Acapulco. Don't worry Eduardo will tour you to Chile, Noushy will tour you to London and the whole of England, Jim will tour you to India and I will accompany you to the Philippines. Of course they're all in our dreams and in bloglandia only. He, he, h,e *lol*
Just focus on your favorite things (as Julie Andrews of The Sound of Music sings) and the things that matters most to you, and you will be happy and contented. Do you think the rich and powerful people in the world are happy? No, they are gripped with all kinds of insecurities and fear that they could hardly get a good sleep at night nor have they genuine peace and joy in their hearts. Count your blessings my young brother and trust the Lord that He will give you the desires of your heart if only you will entrust your life to Him. God bless you with all the secret dreams in your heart. Have a pleasant and cheerful day in Argentina.
Oh Seaspray thank you so much for sharing with us your painful experience in the past. Having Christmas lights and decors are not bad. They're needed to brighten up our Christmas celebrations. What is bad is the callousness of heart and the insensitivity of others to the plight of their less fortunate brethren. They don't have to shell out lots of money if they don't feel inclined to, but we all can pray for our suffering brothers so that the floodgates of heaven will be opened wide and the abundant blessings and graces of God can pour down to those who needed them most. No group of people nor any country can outdo God in terms of giving and aiding those who need them most. It's as simple as that.
I'm glad you had a great yuletide celebration. So sorry if I were not able to visit your blog as often as before. I have very limited time in our computer. Thanks again for your visit. God bless you with the best of health and wealth this coming year and may it be filled with love, joy and prosperity for your whole family. Have a warm and cozy day in the US.
Hi Ceedy,
Thank you very much for your very generous comments but as always, to God be the glory. I do enjoy reading your articles too and we both will benefit from each other's thoughts and world views in life. Thanks for your warm greetings. I hope you had a great yuletide celebration in the US, far from your beloved India. God bless and have a pleasant and peaceful day in the US.
Mel i know Christmas gets commercialized and some of the traditions have pagan roots but I look at it as one BIG birthday celebration for Jesus and what a great way to call attention to him that others might never know. Also...even if it appears people have totally secular responses...his word does not come back void and so we never know what seeds have been planted and when or how they will bear fruit.
I value our friendship and am in awe of your writing.
God bless you and your loved ones Mel. :)
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