Watch CBS News

Keller @ Large: Christmas Is About Joy

BOSTON (CBS) -- Merry Christmas to all WBZ listeners.

Hopefully, today will be devoted to the meaningful pleasures of the season – time spent with family and friends, and in religious reflection.

Soon enough, by tomorrow at the latest, you can count on the flood of messaging to resume from political candidates and others preaching the gospel of partisan division, ideological animus, and demagoguery.

But today, perhaps the coast is clear for another message to get through and stick with those who need to hear it, a message released yesterday by Cardinal Sean O'Malley. It is four minutes long and worth listening to in its entirety, but this brief excerpt was striking.

"Christmas is about joy," said the Cardinal. "So often people do not know the difference between being happy and having fun…. The joy of Christmas is not the product of successful shopping sprees or fantasy or fairy tales or addiction to entertainment, drugs or alcohol…the first Christmas instructions given to the shepherds were 'don't be afraid, go to Bethlehem, go into the darkness seeking God's loving presence revealed in a child, in poverty and in humility'…. Christmas joy is about discovering that life must be lived in solidarity. The Ayn Rand extreme individualism of our culture is poison, whose antidote is community and solidarity."

Consider the contrast between the Cardinal's message and that of the popular and political cultures.

And ask yourself: do I really want the latter to drown out the former once Christmas Day is over?

Listen To Jon's Commentary: 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.