The priests of our Eparchy have reported that church attendance this Christmas was better than they had seen in a number of years. For that we thank God. This year Christmas fell on a Sunday. In Victoria, Saturday’s heat wave had ended and the weather was perfect but Sydney even on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. it was 37’C and still there were more people than usual for Christmas. The 10:00 a.m. liturgy was full as well. Other parishes also reported very good crowds.
Read more:
- About 380 people were present at Summer Camps after Christmas
- It all started in Geelong
- Bishop Peter Christmas Pastoral Letter
All of this is a sign that the faith of our people is alive and relevant. The birth of Christ is a very important moment in our religious faith.
In Victoria, Saturday’s heat wave had ended and the weather was perfect
Bishop Peter attended liturgies in North Melbourne and Geelong. In his reflection on Christmas, he invited the faithful to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ of Bethlehem on Christmas. He underlined that our faith is not a set of formulas, rituals, commandments, or even a culture. It is in fact a personal relationship with the one true God who appeared to us 2,000 years ago. Bishop Peter reminded the faithful that our faith depends on our success in the strength of this relationship. He also said that our relationship with God results in strong relationships with our families, church, community, and our society as a whole. Our faith is strong when we recognize that each and every one of us is an icon of Christ. Therein lies our strength, unity, peace and good will! All of these are attributes of Christmas.
