When Fr. Raymond wrote Love Does Such Things: God’s Christmas Gift to Man in 1955, he probably could not have imagined many of the evils that have become so commonplace today. Back then, the world was far from perfect, but at least the pope was Catholic, and “civilized nations” wanted no part with abortion, woke ideology, and endless attacks on the family. Superficially, it was simpler for many people to find the peace and joy of a Merry Christmas in 1955 than it is now.
As we know, though, many of the greatest gifts from God remain hidden if we limit ourselves to a purely superficial search. If today we need to work harder at times to find and appreciate the peace and joy of Christmas, then it is a good sign that God is offering us something more if we dig deeper. Fr. Raymond’s reflections offer us a vantage point on the Christmas mysteries that can show us how to draw closer to the great gifts that God offers us.
The salutary influence of the Catholic Church has all but disappeared from society and has been replaced by a technological regime that bombards us with mind-numbing inanities masquerading as news and entertainment.
The Infant Jesus is Wisdom
Fr. Raymond wrote that we should not “feel sorry” for the Babe of Bethlehem, even though He was born in such harsh conditions:
“The first thing the Word says to you is: ‘Kindly remember I am Wisdom.’ The request is necessary. For well-meaning persons, pious souls, have inculcated into the young the thought that they should sympathize with the Babe of Bethlehem, feel sorry that He had no better bed than the manger, no better clothes than swaddling bands, no better home than the cattle cave, no better company than the traditional ox and ass. Jesus has to say: ‘Kindly remember that I am Wisdom.’ You need to be shocked into the realization that deliberately and with clarity of foresight and forethought, He very definitely chose this cave, this crib, these bands and these beasts, if beasts were there. Sympathy is out of place. There is only room for docility. Jesus is speaking to you through these accompaniments of His birth.” (p. 53)
This may seem like a rather trivial point, but there is immense significance in the fact that Jesus chose to be born in conditions that seem so unfavorable to most of us. Because He is Wisdom, we cannot hope to find the greatest gifts of Christmas unless we can appreciate that His preferences about the circumstances of His birth have something to teach us. The lesson is all the more important because it runs contrary to human wisdom:
“There have been men who have really merited the name of ‘wise.’ But there had never been a man who could rightly be called ‘Wisdom.’ Look at Wisdom in swaddling bands. Men may choose where they will live, but no man ever before had chosen where he would be born. Look at the One who chose to be born in a cave. He is Wisdom and infinitely free will. Men may gift their mothers all during this life. But never before was there a Child who graced His Mother as this Child has done long before His birth. Now ask yourself if men were allowed to choose their parents, the time, place, and circumstances of their birth, how many would have chosen a peasant girl not out of her teens, a cattle shed, midnight, with no one but a poor carpenter and perhaps a beast or two near?” (p. 57)
If Jesus had wanted to add or subtract anything from this scene, He would have done so. The circumstances in which we find ourselves at any given moment are not “perfect” in the same sense — often because they are tarnished by our sins or those of others — but God has nonetheless permitted them in His Providence to bring about the good He wants for us. God is just as wise in permitting everything in our lives as He was in ordering the circumstances of the Nativity.
The wisdom of the world today insists that we cannot possibly pull ourselves away from our gadgets to draw near the Nativity scene, unless it is for an all-important selfie.
The Infant is Telling Us How to be Truly Merry
Fr. Raymond continued by emphasizing the lessons that Jesus wants us to draw from the circumstances of His birth:
“God is speaking. He is telling you how to be truly merry at Christmas . . . Hence the cave, the crib, the darkness of the night, the cold of winter, and the deliberate choice to be the Son of a poor peasant girl from a despised city, of a despised province, of a despised people, speak with divine eloquence about the way to attain God and eternal happiness. For when God wishes you to be merry it is not for a day, not for a time, but for an eternity; and God, being God, makes no idle wishes, nor does He waste divine words! So from His manger, in plainest language, He is saying that poverty, lowliness, humble station in life, lack of social prestige, discomfort, pain, and privation are not evil things. He is saying ‘Beware of the wisdom of the world!’” (pp. 57-58)
In the decades since Fr. Raymond wrote his book, the wisdom of the world has draw even further away from the “wisdom of the Manger.” Perhaps more than at any time in human history, there are more people who would be willing to do almost anything to avoid “poverty, lowliness, humble station in life, lack of social prestige, discomfort, pain, and privation.” And yet we know with certainty that the wisdom of Jesus is right, and the wisdom of the world is wrong:
“What modern man, what worldling would have made the choices eternal Wisdom made? But Jesus Christ can neither deceive nor be deceived. Therefore the way to your goal, the way to real happiness, the way to a Merry Christmas in time and for eternity if not the way of the world.” (p. 58)
Our real happiness — at Christmas and throughout our lives — depends upon realizing that the wisdom of the world is not simply inadequate to lead us to our goal but completely counterproductive.
Unfortunately, the wisdom of the world today is infinitely more toxic than it was when Fr. Raymond wrote. The salutary influence of the Catholic Church has all but disappeared from society and has been replaced by a technological regime that bombards us with mind-numbing inanities masquerading as news and entertainment. The wisdom of the world today insists that we cannot possibly pull ourselves away from our gadgets to draw near the Nativity scene, unless it is for an all-important selfie. None of this frenetic activity to pacify our disordered appetites can produce one iota of genuine peace or joy, and yet we are told that we cannot break free from it without compromising what really matters in life.
If we will abandon the wisdom of the world and turn attentively to the lessons Jesus wants to teach, He will give us not only a Merry Christmas, but also as much joy and peace as we can have this side of Heaven.
So we know this wisdom of the world is nothing but lies. In contrast, Fr. Raymond wrote about the wisdom that Jesus wants to impart at Christmas:
“Jesus is saying: ‘My child, my loved one, you can have treasure which thieves cannot steal, rust corrode, or moth consume, without having any of the riches or wealth of this world. You can be great with a greatness that is real, without holding high social position or knowing any social prestige. You can be powerful without possessing a single implement that gives modern men and modern nations a sense of power. You can be happy with a happiness that is true joy of heart and gladness of soul without any of the tinseled pleasures of the senses. You can be safe with a security unobtainable by any material means if you will but listen to Me and learn eternal wisdom. I your God, am wishing you, am willing you a Merry Christmas. I am showing you the way to that merriment.’” (p. 58)
If we will abandon the wisdom of the world and turn attentively to the lessons Jesus wants to teach, He will give us not only a Merry Christmas, but also as much joy and peace as we can have this side of Heaven. Fr. Raymond continued by identifying the gift that Jesus wants to give us:
“St. Bernard’s conclusion after hearing such words from the Word is sharp: ‘Either Jesus Christ is deceived, or the world is in error.’ You know the only alternative in that disjunction which you can take. So God is telling you that the secret of happiness and the source of true joy lies in being, not in having. You can be rich without having any riches; be wealthy without possessing any wealth; be great and powerful without holding any power or greatness; you can be happy and even filled with joy without having anything to pamper the body, give pleasure to the senses, or comfort to the earthly frame. The luxuries of life are not necessary for the loftier life. To be all that God made you to be, you need only what this Babe has come to give: grace!” (pp. 58-59)
If we want true peace and joy, we cannot accept the priorities imposed upon us by the world. We must instead seek this gift of grace, treasuring it so much that we would be willing to lose everything else rather than God’s grace. This applies first and foremost to the sanctifying grace that makes us friends of God, but also to the actual graces He offers — all the goods of the world are worthless considered to the grace of God.
We are heirs of Heaven; and there is no other gift remotely comparable with this. We may lose sight of it from time to time, but every human standing before Our Lord in judgment will know that it would have been worth suffering every imaginable misfortune in this life for the sake of obtaining salvation.
God’s Christmas Gift to Us
God’s gift of sanctifying grace make us children of God:
“Now you are at the heart of the Christmas mystery and the miracle of love. Puer natus est nobis; Filius datus est nobis — ‘a Child is born to us; a Son is given to us.’ There is the central core of this feast and its fact. God is given to us in the guise of a Babe just born. But God’s Gift must be accepted before the rapture God wants you to know can ever be felt. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church have echoed and re-echoed this truth John the beloved put in his Prologue. Augustine said: ‘The Son of God was made man that men might become the children of God.’ St. Bernard asks: ‘Why did God become man except that we men might become like God?’ . . . Listen to the divine Infant saying ‘I was born of woman that you might be born of God.’” (p. 59)
As children of God, we are heirs of Heaven; and there is no other gift remotely comparable with this. We may lose sight of it from time to time, but every human standing before Our Lord in judgment will know that it would have been worth suffering every imaginable misfortune in this life for the sake of obtaining salvation. The circumstances of Jesus’s birth help reinforce our appreciation of the worth of this gift that He offers us:
“God is revealing to you a sense of values. He is telling you what is of real worth. This ‘holy Infant so tender and mild’ as the carol has it, speaks stern, strong language from His lowly crib. His tiny hands, too feeble to grasp your little finger firmly, fling aside, with giant gesture, those cumbersome things worldlings so crave. But the lesson of all lessons is in the light of His eyes. Read there your own worth. It is infinite. Because of you God became a baby. The price God the Father paid for you is in the crib. The price God the son will pay for you is seen in the human life God has assumed that He may lay it down so that you may live forever! Christmas tells you your worth.” (pp. 60-61)
In 1955, the “worldlings” rejected this wisdom, as they always do. But today the majority of people identifying as Catholics also reject it. We even have essentially the entire Vatican led by Francis persecuting Catholics who refuse to reject God’s Christmas gift to us.
Though we may rightly pity those unfortunate souls persecuting us, we should not feel sorry for ourselves any more than we should feel sorry for the divine Infant in the piercing cold of the cave. If anything, the misery and chaos of the world today should make it easier for us to draw closer to the divine Infant and the unfathomable gifts He offers us. The world may seem darker and colder than ever today, but God wants us to have a Merry Christmas, a blessed life, and a happy eternity. There could be no greater consolation or reason for hope, no matter how dark and cold the world seems. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
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