The article argues that Christmas cannot be separated from the Cross. Bishop Joseph E. Strickland emphasizes that the joy of Christ’s birth is real and profound, but it is not sentimental or comfortable—it already contains the reality of sacrifice, suffering, and redemption. Jesus did not come to make life easier, but to save humanity, and salvation always has a cost.
By reflecting on figures like Saint Stephen, Saint John, and the Holy Innocents, the article shows that from the very beginning, Christ’s coming provoked sacrifice, fidelity, and even martyrdom. Their lives reveal that true Christian joy is not avoidance of suffering but faithfulness to Christ, even when it demands everything.
Strickland warns that modern Christianity is tempted to soften or avoid the Cross in favor of comfort, consensus, or emotional reassurance. But when the Cross is removed, faith becomes shallow and powerless. True Christmas joy flows from accepting the full meaning of the Incarnation: following Christ in obedience, truth, and sacrifice.
In short, the manger already casts the shadow of the Cross, and embracing that reality is essential to authentic Christian faith and discipleship.

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The Shadow of the Manger is a Cross - Pillars of Faith

We are still in Christmas. The Church insists on that. She stretches the feast across days because the mystery is too large to be taken in all at once. The joy is real. Heaven has opened. God has come among us. The Word has taken flesh, and nothing can undo that triumph. The light shines, and it is not overcome.
But this joy is not fragile, and it is not naïve. It is strong enough to look straight at the truth.
That is why the Church does not ask us to leave Christmas behind when she places these witnesses before us. She asks us to understand Christmas more deeply. The Child in the manger has not come to make the world comfortable. He has come to save it. And salvation is costly.
And the temptation has always been the same. When the cost of discipleship becomes clear, when the Cross comes into view, the instinct is to soften it. To make the message safer. To make the faith easier to carry by reshaping it so it does not press too hard against the world. That temptation is not new – but …