On Christmas 2003, the Pope said: Urbi et Orbi’s message: “The Christmas tree standing next to the nativity scene, shining with the light of the lamps, reminds us that with the birth of Jesus, the tree of life blooms again in the desert of humanity. The nativity scene and the Christmas tree, precious symbols that convey the true meaning of Christmas”. In these precious symbols, John Paul II saw the strength not only of these holidays, but also of man. That is why he often wished those with whom he met that Christmas – together with its symbols: the Star of Bethlehem, a manger, a tree and a wafer – would be their lasting strength. “A force that resists all counter-forces,” he explained. A force that makes it impossible to take away some essential values, the content of our human life. They are ours, they are as if encoded in this sacred Christian tradition, in the holy tradition of Christmas, and from there they flow to man and are in man, and if they are in man, they cannot be moved”. In other words, whatever happens, no one can take it from us. John Paul II said this in the early 1980s to young Poles gathered in the Klementyński Hall. He wished this for them and – as he said – for his beloved homeland, with which he felt “connected with every carol, every Christmas and all the experiences of history through which he goes”. As if he believed that the strength of the Newborn, the strength of Christmas, will raise his beloved homeland from his knees. A few years later Poland raised.
With the consent of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “A place for everyone”
Znak Publishing House, Krakow 2013
