Christmas Blessing By Bishop Ashby
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (the Most Rev. Dr. B. P. Ashby) wished “the choicest blessings of the Christ-child on the Mayor and citizens of Christchurch, and all the people of Canterbury and Westland” in his Christmas Blessing yesterday. “The spirit of carnival that surrounds the celebration of this feast is a fitting way of expressing joy,” he said. Christmas was the most popular of all the Christian festivals. “We would be a drab, colourless, people if we did not mark the anniversary of the birth of Christ by festivity,” said Bishop Ashby.
"Moreover, Christmas is a tribute to the Christian culture in which we and our forefathers have been formed, with its overtones of kindness and basic good will towards our fellow men. While we condemn the atrocities in the Congo, for instance, keeping the courageous victims in our | prayers, we can hope that this
Christian legacy of ours would make such happenings unthinkable in New Zealand.” Bishop Ashby concluded with a special though and prayer for those in hospital, sick at home, the aged, the bereaved, and those faced with misfortune and loss at this time.
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Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30632, 24 December 1964, Page 5
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194Christmas Blessing By Bishop Ashby Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30632, 24 December 1964, Page 5
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