"In the wake of a hedonistic consumerism, we are at risk of losing the spiritual meaning of Christmas which is becoming a mere commercial occasion for buying and exchanging presents!" warned the Pope. "Indeed, the difficulties, the uncertainty and the economic crisis itself, that are hitting many families and the whole humanity in these months, can be an incentive to rediscover the warmth of simplicity, of friendship and of solidarity, which are typical Christmas values. Stripped of its consumerist and materialistic encrustations, Christmas can become an occasion to welcome, as a personal gift, the message of hope that flows from the mystery of Christ’s birth." Nevertheless, this is not sufficient. For Benedict XVI, at Christmas we recall the "eternal Meaning of the world" that "became perceptible to our senses and to our intelligence. A Meaning that has become flesh is not only an inborn general idea in our world. It is a Word addressed to us. The Meaning has power: is God. A good God who is not to be mistaken for a superior and distant being we will never reach, but a God who has become our neighbour and is very close to us, who has time for everyone of us and who has come to be with us."” ” ” ” ” “
