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In reality, however, this time marks the Christian religious era in which the unborn baby Jesus is expected. The priest Artūras Kazlauskas asks that this time be dedicated to the reflections of the past year, especially now that people’s lives have been stopped by a pandemic, to think about what we did well and what we did not so well.
Artūras Kazlauskas, priest of the Kaunas Cathedral parish, points out that the liturgical year begins in Advent in the Catholic Church.
“It just came to our knowledge then. We forget that in different religions or in different nations, the new year begins at a different time. It is not necessarily January 1. The liturgical year begins with the first week of Advent.
Even the meaning of Advent is coming up. It is often associated with waiting. One of the important things is that while you wait and prepare, you can survive the celebration. From a psychological point of view, we know that a party that is unexpected, is not fully lived and it seems that something is still missing. As a well-known drink lover says, the new year has come unexpectedly. For many years, he has not met the New, because there is not always sobriety through them, ”says priest A. Kazlauskas.
Therefore, the arrival of the holidays is very important psychologically. The priest says he has heard complaints that the mention of St. Christmas in kindergarten, school and work, people no longer look forward to the real holidays and when they arrive, they are already bored.
“It is bad in our society because we cannot wait and we want to celebrate here and now. In our community now that it is no longer possible to celebrate, it is forbidden, even for the noble purpose of protecting ourselves and others. Now is a good opportunity to celebrate in a way that you haven’t celebrated before, look forward to the celebration, “he says.
Instead of an unnecessary gift, a personal wish.
“As for the gift rage … I grew up in a Soviet family and it was not customary to give gifts. We celebrated Christmas without presents. But we also had a fir tree, we got those dream tangerines”, – our St. family Remember Christmas .
However, the priest points out that the gift is often redundant and artificial. And sometimes it’s bought just to give away.
“It is popular in our society to exchange gifts, is it significant and meaningful? Maybe if we look at it in such a way that God does too. We give Christmas to ourselves and that is why we give ourselves away. Gifts were also talked about in the Christian times We also have an apocalyptic example in the Bible, it says that when the prophets were killed, people began to celebrate and send gifts to each other.
Which means that people then expressed joy by giving gifts to each other. In a way it makes sense, but sometimes looking into their eyes and listening can be more valuable than the gift we have prepared. This year it probably will not be, but generally we priests attend Christmas several times, not only in families, but also in communities.
I have noticed that when people break Christmas, unleavened bread, they must wish for something very significant, and many people have nothing to wish for except happiness, health, money. We don’t want to wish for something personally. When this year we are not allowed to walk to supermarkets in vain, perhaps it is better to come up with a personal wish, ”says A. Kazlauskas.
The priest also mentions that the purchase of gifts helps the economy of the state, so in this sense it makes a lot of sense, but when choosing a gift it is important that it is not excessive and meaningless.
Be a disciple of Jesus
“Christians experience Advent differently, unbelievers experience it differently. Advent makes sense when you are a Christian and even a Catholic. A person who does not believe at this time might reflect on the end of the year, if he behaved well or if his choices were correct. Our society often thinks of self-actualization, whether you’ve accomplished enough or you’re happy.
As a Catholic priest, I see things differently. Advent is generally divided into two parts: the first, until December 17, is a look at the returning Christ. Christ himself, who was born in Bethlehem in 2000 and was later assassinated and resurrected, will return at the end of time and will be judge. He will judge you and your life.
That court is not in love; he will see if you are a good student. So, until December 17, a good Christian looks at his life and tries to rethink if he really lived in a meaningful way, if his life goals are in accordance with the teachings of Jesus, because to be a Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus, ”he says. A. Kazlauskas.
The priest points out that from December 17 to December 25 the first birth is looked at, and for the next 8 days the Bible is read and the birth of each one is looked at, what purpose they have, what gift and challenge to parents. Thinking of the birth of Jesus means thinking of his existence in man, not in a miraculous way, but in the birth of a woman.
“For Christians, Christmas is one of the biggest misunderstandings, and for unbelievers, it is complete nonsense because God was born human. That is what Christmas announces. Only during this time do we turn Christmas into a family holiday and with that everything is fine: a fun environment, gifts, a Christmas tree, but in fact, many families do not have it, but not because they are not Catholic, but because they have no family.
Many families are divorced and live alone. Not all families are neat, crowded, or how we imagine they should be. In some homes, parents get drunk every night, but that’s the reality. God enters all realities and therefore his arrival must be understood. Are we able to notice the God who is near? Here’s another question. Every day, Christians try to understand God’s steps, ”he says.
God is light
The priest says that in fact the Christmas tree is not a Christian sign, although it is too st. Christmas and decorate some churches.
“According to the Church, this is an ornament that has nothing to do with Christianity. The same goes for the four Advent wreath candles that became fashionable during the Lithuanian revival. I grew up in Soviet society and there was no such tradition. It is new and not necessarily bad, it is a sign of waiting.
Since Advent consists of 4 Sundays, they are marked by those four candles. Three candles come in purple and one in pink. The third Sunday of Advent is a Sunday of joy and the color purple is offset by white as a sign of impending joy. “A candle lit every Sunday is a testimony of the proximity of the birth of God,” he says.
A candle is basically a source of light and it is a sign of Christ because it is light. December 25 is the solar solstice: the days begin to lengthen and the nights shorten.
That true sun is Christ. So the candle is the sign of Christ, because it has to be used to shine. Christ did the same: He enlightened the world without pitying himself and even destroying himself on the cross.
It is a very nice look at what a candle is: if you want to shine, use yourself, if you save yourself, you do not shine. That is the way of the Christian. Whoever is able to use and give all that he is and has, becomes light. And no matter how much he keeps to himself, no matter how much he survives for himself, no matter how selfish he is, no matter how much he is in the dark, ”says priest A. Kazlauskas.
As a child, the most anticipated Christmas mass
“Until I was a priest, I lived a natural life, naturally. My parents, my grandmother, my brother, and I sat at a table at Christmas. There was a white tablecloth, Christmas food, an oatmeal cake that smelled and was the scariest thing for us children, but Mom and Grandma ate it.
That night we were also decorating the Christmas tree. I just want to point out that the sooner you decorate, the sooner all those decorations will disappear. I noticed that the Magi are not even waiting now and we are throwing everything away earlier. We were decorating Christmas Eve, and the city was decorating on December 26 to be New Years Eve. On Christmas Eve, we just broke the plot: my mother was crying because her father was not a virtuous communist.
Only later was he expelled from the Communist Party by his son, who was about to enter the priests’ seminary, although he had not told his father or mother of his intentions. After that, one night his father was offended because he was no longer a communist, ”he says about his family’s Christmas Eve.
A. Kazlauskas says that it is very serious and customary for him to attend mass after Christmas dinner, when a church full of people gathered, the students returned from the big cities and it was a great celebration for the whole community.
“When I became a priest and was ordained to church, there was no Christmas mass anywhere except in two churches. Even my rector was not used to attending shepherds’ mass, but I persuaded him and we had a Christmas mass the following year, ”he recalls.
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