In Britain, 80 million Easter eggs are sold each year.

80 million little nails in the coffin of the Christian religion.

80 million little propaganda units spreading the word that Easter is about holidays and chocolate.

Not about God.

* * *

But this year something new under the sun is about to appear.

Some British supermarket chains will be stocking the Real Easter Egg — the UK’s first and only fair-trade charity Easter egg.

And the first to mention Jesus on the box.

The packaging tells customers: “Easter is all about cute bunnies, fluffy chicks and eating too much chocolate, right? Well, not quite. We happen to think it’s a bit more meaningful than that. That’s because billions of people all over the world believe that Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, then rose again three days later . . . on Easter Sunday . . . .”

Two charities will benefit from the sale of the £3.99 eggs.

Traidcraft Exchange will receive 30p from every egg sold.

Baby Lifeline will receive 10 percent of the Real Easter Egg net profits.

* * *

The manufacturer, Meaningful Chocolate Company, says it has received more than 70,000 orders since the egg was launched last September 2010.

It has exhausted its supplies of direct mail-order eggs.

However the Christian-themed eggs won’t be found in Britain’s three biggest supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda – which between them have a 63 percent market share.

Perhaps these organisations are less interested in the Real Easter and more interested in real money.

Perhaps if the Real Easter Egg turns out a big seller these big supermarkets may get an attack of religion – and next year be glad enough to cash in.

Whose fault is it that Queensland is being flooded and people are drowning?

Why Queensland?

Self-styled “Pastor” Daniel Nalliah said the other day on his website, “We had a strong prompting by the Holy Spirit to repent on behalf of Australia. As we started doing so, I was reminded that every time America went against Israel, there was disaster in the land . . . .

 “Then I was reminded of Kevin Rudd speaking against Israel on December 14. It is very interesting that Kevin Rudd is from Queensland . . . .

“Is God trying to get our attention? Yes, I believe so.”

* * *

Mr Nalliah once famously claimed that the Victorian bushfires were God’s punishment for Victoria for having passed abortion laws permitting late-term babies to be aborted by the head-crushing “partial-birth” abortion technique . . . .

Yes, that law certainly seems to cry out for divine retribution.

But it’s hard to be sure that the Black Saturday fires had anything to do with it.

* * *

The Bible records what Jesus said about this subject.

Gospel of Saint Luke:

“Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered like that they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’

“Or those eighteen people killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them – were they more guilty than everyone else living in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’”

By “repenting”, Jesus means feeling sorrow for having done something that offends God – plus a resolution to avoid situations where we are likely to fall into sin again.

* * *

If God sent a major natural disaster every time our community flouted his laws, there would be disasters every day and we’d have been wiped out long ago.

We probably deserve worse than what we get.

Final justice comes after this life.

We should all be happy about Christmas, the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The fact is that only Jesus can solve the real problems of mankind.

All real problems of men derive from sin (disobedience to God).

Health disorders, material, economic and political troubles – even bad decisions by umpires – all these are only really problems insofar as they affect our spiritual relationship with God.

* * *

That’s why Christmas is a good thing.

Christmas carries the message that there is a remedy for our troubles — the remedy being God’s forgiveness for our sins.

If we continue in unforgiven sin, we are a waste of both time and space – and can expect God to treat us as such.

So the problem of sin is serious.

Fatally serious.

The answer to that problem is NOT for us to make up our minds to do better.

That way we’ll merely discover that we’re incapable of persevering in ”doing better” for any length of time — because we’re spiritually broken, and can only be repaired by supernatural means.

The supernatural means being found exclusively in the confessional at a Catholic Church.

We might think it would be nice if there were some other alternative remedy — but there is none.

* * *

Anyway we don’t need an alternative.

God loves us enough to have given us the way back to him that we need.

Do we hate ourselves so much as to not accept his loving gift?

God will forgive because the sacrificial death of the God-made-man, Jesus Christ, was so infinitely meritorious  . . . .

So meritorious that it more than counterbalances all our attempts to make an enemy of God by disobeying him.

* * *

Let us thank God for his plan for our salvation, and for that first Christmas Day when it began to make itself apparent here on earth.

Let us also thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for her part in the birth — and in the Passion and death — of our Saviour.

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Even the ruling classes, and the media with which they manipulate us, have a soft spot for Christmas.

They permit, in small controlled doses, some mention of “the true meaning of Christmas” – a baby born in a stable somewhere, choirs of angels etc.

The reason they tolerate it is that they do not understand it.

To them Christmas is a kind of “Coca Cola of the people” – giving a sensation of sweetness, while leaving you with no teeth.

They understand Easter better — which is why at Easter time we are under pressure every year to focus exclusively on raising money for charities, family get-togethers, bunnies . . . .

And, above all, chocolate.

* * *

But the messages of Easter and of Christmas are the same message.

A message that:

 * God entered in Person into human history

 * he came to save us from our sins.

 * we must put him first in our lives.

 * we must detach ourselves from everything not essential to our union with God.

 * religion is everything in life, trumping every other concern.

* * *

Yes, once Christ arrived on earth at Christmas, Good Friday and Easter were inevitable.

Inevitable that he’d be persecuted and butchered by the trend-setters of his day (only to triumph by rising from the dead).

Christ’s message was hated in his lifetime — and it’s hated now.

If we attend to this world’s consumer items and fashion statements, while finding no time to focus, long and unhurried, on Christ’s life, Passion and death . . . .

Then we have succumbed/surrendered – such things being for us, idols, false gods, fetishes and perversions.

Anything that takes your mind off God is a tool of the devil.

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Kylie Minogue has released two “Christmas charity singles” – cover versions of “Santa Baby” and “Let It Snow” . . . .

Christmas singles?

OK, let’s check the lyrics.

* * *

First up:

“Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let It Snow . . . .

It doesn’t show signs of stopping,
And I’ve bought some corn for popping . . . .”

Not particularly deep stuff.

Could there be more to Christmas than that?

* * *

OK. Let’s check song number two:

“Santa Baby,
Just slip a sable under the tree,
For me.
Been an awful good girl
Santa Baby . . . .
I really do believe in you
Let´s see if you believe in me.”

* * *

Well thank you Kylie for those thoughts.

Now let us turn to Councillor John Arnold, mayor of Mildura – Australia’s best town.

Mr Arnold wrote a Christmas message in yesterday’s daily paper, saying, among other things:

“The story of Christmas is one of hope and giving. I believe that whatever your views are, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2000 years ago in Bethlehem has a message that we can all take something from. . . . .”

* * *

So where are we up to now?

The pop star is kind enough to support a charity as part of her Christmas publicity . . . .

The mayor is kind enough to mention Our Lord with courtesy . . . .

But is not the point of Christmas ultimately something else?

Is not Christmas, properly understood, a confrontation?

* * *

Christians believe something that non-Christians cannot bring themselves to believe — that the Child born on that day was and is God himself.

If that’s true, and you refuse to believe it, then you are turning your back on God.

As Saint John of the Cross said long ago, Our Lord weeps at the sight of those whose hearts are far from him, “celebrating their own selves more than God . . . .”

What would he think of how we today celebrate the visitation of God who is our Saviour and also our Judge?

Recently a memo was circulated suggesting that Centrelink and Medicare offices should not display nativity scenes at Christmas.

Human Services Minister, Tanya Plibersek, commented that this memo, written by a junior officer, was “inappropriate”.

She said, “It is perfectly reasonable for departmental staff to display Christmas decorations, including nativity scenes.”

“I also support staff who wish to celebrate Eid, Hanukkah, Diwali, the Lunar New Year or any other occasion of religious or cultural significance.”

Tanya P, although trying to sit on the fence, was making, in fact, an ideologically-loaded statement.

Her ideology being the belief that all religions are equally true/untrue.

A very unpleasant sort of fundamentalism.

* * *

From a Christian viewpoint, religion exists to lead souls to God — as individuals, and ALSO as a society.

It is every Catholic’s duty to do everything possible to make the society in which he lives a Catholic society.

The enemies of Catholic religion – the smarter ones, anyway – know that religion cannot be destroyed. It is too deeply seated in the human heart.

Smart Communists, atheists, humanists etc. don’t waste time trying to eradicate religion, but strive to house-train it.

They know they have succeeded when people become convinced that “religion is a private matter”.

* * *

Religion is NOT a private matter.

When his disciples asked Jesus Christ how they should pray, he taught them a prayer that says, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come . . . .”

We should look twice at that last sentence.

What would life be like if we lived as though it literally applied to us?

Our society would become overtly Christian.

Children would grow up knowing that to believe Catholic teaching is normal behaviour.

Christmas would be observed on an official basis.

Not only would nativity scenes be “tolerated” in government departmental workplaces — they would be given pride of place in each and every one of them.