Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, Archbishop of Bogotá (Colombia), encouraged Catholics to light three lights this Christmas time: gratitude, prayer and trust.
The liturgy of the Catholic Church indicates that Christmas is not celebrated just for one day, but for a complete time that begins on December 24, the eve of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, and continues until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which It will be held on Sunday, January 12.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
Also notable during this time is the celebration of the Octave of Christmas, eight days of celebration that go from December 25 to January 1, Solemnity of Mary Mother of God.
1. The light of gratitude
The Colombian cardinal recalled in a video message published by the Archdiocese of Bogotá that “God has given us life, God has given us faith, because God has allowed us to feed ourselves and work, find ourselves and live as a family. Gratitude for all the wonders that God does for us.”
2. The light of prayer
“It is the second light that you must turn on in your life and with your entire family. Christmas time is a time for dialogue with God. He became close so he could experience the personal encounter with his family and with each one of us,” said the cardinal.
The archbishop also highlighted that “that encounter, that light of prayer transforms his life and renews his family.”
3. The light of trust
Cardinal Rueda encouraged each faithful not to end “this year, nor this Christmas time full of fears, full of worries or anguish.”
The cardinal then recalled that “God is with his family, God is with his life. Christmas is God’s presence with us. Trust in that infinite love that overcomes all barriers.”
Walter Sánchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.