Archbishop urges Fijians to ‘gift their lives’ this Christmas

Christmas should be about gifting your life to others, not just shopping and buying, says Archbishop Peter Loy Chong.

The head of the Catholic Church in Fiji shared this message yesterday during a visit to Father Law Home in Wailekutu, Lami, where he reflected on the true meaning of Christmas.

“Let Christmas, make Christmas what Christmas really is, and that is to gift your life to others,” Archbishop Chong said.

“It’s not about shopping, it’s not about buying, it’s about how we can gift other people with the gifts of our life.”

Drawing from the biblical story of the wise men who visited baby Jesus with gifts, the Archbishop encouraged Fijians to follow their example.

“In the story of the birth of Jesus, the last section of the story is the wise men from the north come to visit the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph with their gifts,” he said.

“For all of us, Christians and all people of different faiths, let this Christmas be a time of gifting, because God has gifted the world with his very own presence, and that is what we should do.”

Archbishop Chong stressed that meaningful gifts don’t have to be expensive or material.

“We did not bring a lot of gifts, but we can spend time to sing Christmas carols and bring joy to our friends,” he said.

The Archbishop’s broader Christmas message focused on God entering into the brokenness of the world.

“Christmas is about God entering into the chaos and the brokenness of our world and that's what we should do, to help one another and to allow God to work in the brokenness of our lives,” Archbishop Chong said.

The Catholic Church will hold Christmas Eve Mass this evening, with Christmas Day services continuing the celebration.

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