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Robe (Agenzia Fides) - “The Christmas season here in Ethiopia ends with the Feast of Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which in the theology and ecclesial practice of the Orthodox Church has a much greater meaning than the feast of Christmas itself, unlike our Catholic tradition,” reports Father Emanuele Ciccia, of the Villaregia Missionary Community of the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe, at the end of the Christmas season.
“In the triad of feasts of the revelation of the Word of Christmas, Epiphany and Baptism, the latter undoubtedly places more emphasis on divinity,” continues Father Emanuele, “while for us Catholics the emphasis is on the flesh of Christ, hence the poverty of the manger, the simplicity of the night of Bethlehem, the humility of the manger”. “On Christmas night, the Apostolic Prefect, Father Angelo Antolini, presided over the Mass and opened the Holy Door of the Church of Robe, our cathedral in the small, minority prefecture,” he reports. “We experienced Christmas as Pope Francis would say: ‘By touching the flesh of Christ.’ Although Christmas was celebrated on January 7, during the week of December 24-25, 2024, when the Catholic world celebrated the birth of Jesus, we were in the East Bale Zone, around seven to eight hours from Robe, working with the Women and Children’s Office of some provinces in the East Bale Zone to raise awareness of traditional practices that are harmful to women, including female genital mutilation and early marriage: this is evangelization for us! Whatever violates the dignity of the human person is for us a privileged space for the proclamation of the Gospel... and it concerns us!” “This was Christmas for us,” concludes the missionary, “to recognize the Lord Jesus and his flesh in the most vulnerable people... the Catholic community must affirm the inviolable dignity of the human person in the action of evangelization.” (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 16/1/2025)
