Each month, Fr. Bernard J. McGuckian, S.J. answers some of the questions you ask about the faith and its practice.
The Spirit of Giving
People give presents to one another at Christmas more than at any other time of the year. Would it not be better if this commendable practice was less a splurge at Christmas than something spread out more evenly over the
whole year?
Geraldine.
No one could disagree with your suggestion that the Christmas spirit of generosity be extended to the other days of the year. However, I think we should be thankful that there is at least one occasion each year when we rise above our normal close-fistedness and open up to others even if they are mostly our friends.
A lot of people in real need also benefit from the spirit of giving in the Christmas air.
History of present-giving
The practice of giving presents at Christmas time is so ancient that it is hard to know when exactly it started. One tradition is that it began with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myria in Lycia, a district of ancient Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, sometimes called the Second Holy Land since so much of what is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles took place there. Renowned for his generosity to the poor, 6 December is his feast-day. Santa Claus, aka Father Christmas, probably the most universally known ‘personality’ on the planet, is an abbreviation of Saint Nicholas. Following his shining example, the practice of sharing gifts spread to the whole Christian world, especially at Christmas when we recall God’s generous gift to us of His Son. The Christmas spirit of goodwill is now evident far beyond the frontiers of Christianity.
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35). Christmas generosity is surely an indication that these words attributed to Jesus by St. Paul have made their way into many hearts. The very word ‘present’, with its various meanings, helps us understand what is going on. We want to be near, to be ‘present to’ those we love but because of the limitations of time and space this is not always possible. We can only be in one place at a time, but our gift makes us ‘virtually’ present to distant friends.
Today, the wonders of modern technology make possible this presence in all sorts of ways. We can send our voices and pictures instantaneously around the globe. If used wisely the Internet and the World Wide Web present (that word again!) us with further possibilities. We should thank the Creator for these wonders.
In the sending of gifts, it is God Himself who has set the ball rolling. His first gift to us is life itself. This He followed up with the gift of His Son, to extricate us from the dangers this life entails. At Pentecost, He sent the Holy Spirit to console us in life’s many predicaments. Ours is not a ‘remote control’ God. He comes to us in person in these gifts, sharing His Infinite Goodness with us. All He wants in return is that we, in our turn, be givers to others of what is best in us.
Gift of good example
The best gift that anyone can give others, at Christmas or indeed any other time, is good example. There is no substitute for it. Parents should give it to their children, priests to their parishioners and teachers to their pupils. It is more important than any good advice and more helpful than any material gift, no matter how valuable. Giving good example is not putting on an act. It is simply a manifestation of what we are. The Abbe Huvelin’s remark to his penitent Blessed Charles de Foucauld is a propos. ‘It is not what we say or do that makes the difference but what we are’. For a Christian, this means living according to the lights and graces we have received. For a Catholic, a step in this direction at Christmas is to attend Mass and prepare for it by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Confession
No one knew the value of this Sacrament, still popularly known as Confession, better than the same Blessed Charles, beatified a few years ago by Benedict XVI. His life changed dramatically for the better after confession in the Church of St. Augustine, Paris in October 1886. He realised that this Sacrament had left him ‘whiter than snow’ (Ps.51:7) in spite of a disreputable past. So incorrigible was he in his youth that he was thrown out of the French Army for keeping a mistress in the camp. After that good confession he was to spend the rest of his life in prayer and penance, eventually dying a martyr at the hands of nomads in the Sahara Desert on December 1st, 1916.
There is a deep longing for the whiteness of innocence in every heart, even the most sullied. Without it there is no peace. On the first Christmas night the angels proclaimed that it was on offer to all men and women of goodwill. The desire for it keeps revealing itself in all sorts of guises through the ages. It is there in all the Christmas carols. Years after his death, the instantly recognisable voice of Bing Crosby still haunts the shopping malls and airwaves of the world as he dreams about a White Christmas, the most successful single record ever produced at over 50,000,000 copies.
In the warmer climates of the world people probably wonder what’s so special about a White Christmas, or what could possibly be meant by ‘sleigh bells in the snow’. Everyone who listens to Bing, however, can catch the nostalgia for an ideal world, regardless of geographical location, ethnic origin or religious persuasion. White is a universal symbol of innocence and purity, something every human heart has been hankering after since it was lost all those ages ago in a Garden. It was given back to us in another Garden.
There is now no reason why ‘all our Christmases cannot be white’. The Dawn Mass on Christmas Day reminds us of this consoling truth. ‘When the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed’, it was to save us ‘by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit’ (cf. Titus 3: 4-7).
The Prince of Peace fulfils our deepest yearnings, movingly expressed in the prayer of King David when he realised the error of his ways.
‘O purify me, then I shall be clean; O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.’ (Ps.51:7)