By Grace Ongey
The Christmas season is already filled with glitter. Commercial interests use our natural instinct to honour and delight our loved ones to push us into a spending orgy. Our desire for fellowship often leads to an array of parties with gluttonous eating and destructive drinking. Putting aside all this feverish running around and focusing on the spiritual dimension of Christmas we can discover true joy.
St Monica's Parish, Makepe, is one of those parishes that is doing everything to ensure that secular concerns do not overshadow the spiritual aspect of this great event. Speaking to L'Effort Camerounais, the assistant Parish Priest, Fr. Jude Nkawir, says the parish is doing a lot to ensure that Christians receive the new born king.
Fr. Jude indicates that from a spiritual standpoint, many Makepe Parish Christians are focusing on the renewal of their spiritual lives. He said many will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas. The sick have not been neglected in the journey.
As is the tradition in Makepe, priests are visiting the sick at home to permit them pass confession and receive Holy Communion. Fr. Jude added that his parishioners had donated gifts in kind and cash for a planned visit to lepers at Dimbombari, but due to the bad nature of the roads, the Christmas surprise has been moved to a later date.
In Makepe Christmas for the children begins on December 22. It is a traditional gathering whereby children of all parishioners gather to celebrate the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. They will be producing sketches and songs about the birth of Jesus. Children usually receive gifts from donations from parishioners thereafter.
This year on Christmas Eve, precisely in the morning, parishioners will start preparing to welcome a great guest in their midst. There is going to be a clean up campaign where the surroundings of the Church will be kept clean, as is the case when we await a loved one.
The All Makepe choral groups will take part in a musical concert at about 8 pm to usher in the Nativity Mass. After this Mass, Christians will move to the manger in a solemn procession to pay homage to the new born king.
The apex of the celebration is the "Agape meal" to portray solidarity and the spirit of sharing among Christians. Each parishioner comes with a meal for two people especially for those who may not have anything to offer. Fr. Nkawir explains the Parish Priest, Mgr Paul Nyaga, instituted the event to curb irresponsible behaviour from Christians on Christmas day.
He preferred that music and animation should be used to entertain parishioners till dawn, rather than allow them get entangle in unchristian celebrations elsewhere. It is usually the part most parishioners love.
Christmas is a joyful time for Christians all over the world. To Makepe Christians, celebrating Christmas is not about keeping traditions and rituals, but remembering God's great gift to the world and using this opportunity to let more people know about the bright star, Jesus Christ.
Through the four weeks of Advent, which began this year on Sunday 30 November, the Church has been waiting and preparing itself for the coming of Christ. On December 25, Christians will therefore celebrate an event that changed the course of history, the birth of the Saviour.
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