I remember a past Christmas here in Rome when I was a jolly Italian Santa Claus for hundreds of children at a large hotel. I still have no idea how I ended up in that position! Everyone in the house was probably looking forward to having a good laugh. I’m sure the kids really thought I was from the North Pole as I strained to speak Italian with my thick American accent.
We all have fond memories of Christmas with its atmosphere of colored lights, happy faces, gifts and delicious foods. The scent of the Christmas tree and the sound of joyful music fill every imagination. In all this doesn’t God show His generosity and love for us unfailingly year after year? We all know it is an understatement to add that Christmas is so much more than all this. At the same time I’d like to share with you how this hit home with me after celebrating some past Christmases in Ukraine.
There were three Christmases which were hidden in their bitter poverty and not enjoyed in the way the materially wealthy enjoy this great feast. Each one was plagued with tragedy or disturbing inconveniences or time-consuming matters of crises and urgencies. The first year began with the village church burning to the ground shortly before Advent began. Everyone was left with a sense of devastation and hopelessness. The following Christmases were engulfed and pushed to the side in whirlwinds of emergency meetings, serious crises in the lives of people, interior spiritual struggles and necessary trips. These experiences taught me a lot about Christmas because they forced me to see a deeper meaning to it all. Many times I’ve meditated on similar inconveniences which surrounded the first Christmas.
Jesus was born in the midst of serious poverty. Joseph and Mary were traveling, strangers in the area and with very little time and money, barely found a dirty old stable on a roadside used by shepherds to protect sheep during storms. Late on a chilly evening, after spending their energies being rejected from many inns, there was scarcely enough time or strength to find probably just half of the wood needed for a night. They had traveled all day through a barren and rocky countryside. Unexpected harsh circumstances had thrust them into a trying situation as Mary was close to giving birth. Joseph and Mary struggled just to hold on to the bare necessities. They were unsettled and sharply aware of their helplessness. And it was in the midst of such human inadequacies God the Son had chosen to be born.
Joseph and Mary realized their total dependency on God in their situation. In their spiritual poverty they accepted their helplessness and trusted in the Almighty. They knew that in their poverty they could only surrender to God and trust in His generosity. Surely these things have a lesson to teach us.
Jesus is drawn to the spiritually poor, to us when we accept our total helplessness without God and therefore our total dependence on Him. Every Christmas He is born in hearts that are poor, burdened, empty, struggling and barren. He chooses to come to those who have nothing else worth anything and who recognize their absolute nakedness before Him. Such beautiful hearts attract the God-Man. And this is why Jesus was attracted to Mary whose heart was lowly and whose submission to God was perfect. These are the things I learned from a few past Christmases in Ukraine.
Merry Christmas to all of you.
Fr. Sullivan, M.J., is a priest with the Miles Jesu order. Miles Jesu is an Institute of Consecrated Life dedicated to promoting reverence to the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Our Lady and faithfulness to the official teachings of the Church. For information on Miles Jesu and its Seminary Program, please call 1-800-654-7945 or visit their website.
