Develop your Christian conscience Published: Sunday, December 14, 2014 Vernon Khelawan Christmas is a time of the year that seems to draw out the best in people, community organisations, and even institutions. It is the season when goodwill—genuine or ostentatious—comes trundling to the fore. Many corporate citizens feed the poor, donate toys to needy children, arrange visits to hospitals where they comfort infants in the pediatric wards or other similar places, as part of bringing holiday cheer to the sick, disabled and institutionalised seniors. That has been the practice for decades, and society welcomes all those actions which are geared to making people feel good at this time of the year. But the burning question that arises every single year is what happens over the ensuing 364 days until the following Christmas? That question is yet to be answered by our lay leaders and the organisations. Granted, some of these organisations do year-round work, but that is their mission. On the other hand, many of these gestures are pure postulation and is really a façade. It is time that the show be put aside and truly genuine gestures are put forward. This society is so fractured that it needs more than just “band-aid” seasonal solutions. Things must be done because the institution sees the need for such action and not just for show. As the line in that old Christmas song goes, “It’s not the things you do at Christmas, but the Christmas things you do all year through.” This attitude I choose to call the “Christmas conscience,” when all and sundry look for things they can do that will serve to satisfy their meaning of “goodwill and peace to all men.” The Christmas conscience, which affects a large majority in the T&T society, is like a faucet that is turned on every December and off again when the New Year begins. This society, as it is today, is highly materialistic and Christmas is made to feel like a “make-good” season, when people try to make up for all the kindness and goodwill they did not show or practice during the other 11 months of the year. The true meaning of Christmas is not merely to do the Christmas things—clean the house and surroundings, buy new curtains, modern decorations, plenty of shimmering, blinking lights, lots of special seasonal foods, an ever expanding gift list, and a good supply of drinks. This is today’s Christmas, but if the society is to regain its pristine glory, then there has to be a resolve to focus on the true reason for the season. We have to become a people of loving neighbourliness, kindness, full of charity, and a clear understanding of what it is to be a truly genuine person, one with a pure heart, which understands the need for social values like standards and discipline, tolerance and respect for human dignity. Then and only then can we say that our society understands fully why we are here—to serve God and do the things God wants us to do for ourselves and our fellow men. We are well past the halfway mark in the season of Advent; the season of preparation for the coming of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, during which we are supposed to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. It is not too late to change gears and begin, in the short time remaining, to resolve to make Christmas more meaningful to yourself, your family, your friends and your community. It is also a good occasion to shed the Christmas conscience and replace it with a “Christian conscience.” Vernon Khelawan is media relations officer of Catholic Media Services Ltd (Camsel), the official communications arm of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain. Its offices are located at 31 Independence Square. Telephone: 623-7620 Christmas is the season of goodwill. Source:: Trinidad Guardian The post Develop your Christian conscience appeared first on Trinidad & Tobago Online. #trinidad
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 03:33:30 +0000
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