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An article inspired by the writings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, as found in the newest publication from Slaying Dragons Press: A Novena for Christmas: The Meditations of St. Alphonsus Liguori. (eBook exclusively HERE - Paperback and Hardcover as well HERE!)

This Christmas, remember that the joy we seek does not come from the beautiful externals of our celebrations: the decorations, the traditions, the customs, or the gifts we give or receive. If that were not true, then Christ, who elected to be born in Bethlehem in absolute poverty, would have Himself been without joy and would have had no joy to impart to the world.

The joy of Christmas, that special gift from God which mesmerizes the whole world each year, is supernatural. Among the fruits of the Holy Spirit, joy is listed second, immediately following Love. It was the Love in the heart of God for man which compelled Him to forsake His glory and descend to earth, determined to finally win over the hearts of men. The Love He came to bring is the spring from which true Christian joy emerges.

Thus, the joy which all men seek when the Church celebrates the Birth of the Divine Messiah – that Birth by which the world first beheld the truth that God had chosen to become man – is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a gift which requires faith and gratitude to Almighty God. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ first became man, and it is by the Holy Spirit that His Incarnation brings supernatural effects to our souls.

When the shepherds ran, at the prompting of the angels, to find the Christ Child lying in a manger, they found Him with His mother and St. Joseph. When they left, they left “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” But what was it that they had beheld when they found the Child? Did they behold a golden child from Whom the light of Heaven emanated and before Whom the secret songs of angels were sung? No, they beheld a poor Child with his poor parents, whose only possessions were carried on a donkey, who were forced to place this Child in a manger used by animals, wrapped in simple rags, exposed to the midnight cold of winter, crying from the discomfort – crying out for the love of men, for whom, and for whom alone, He had descended from Heaven.

This Christmas, the Christ Child indeed wants us to feast, to celebrate, and to make merry, for the first signs are beheld that the Bridegroom has finally come! But let us remember, on these cold winter nights, that the Christ Child’s first Christmas was one of pain and sorrow. He came to call sinners to Himself, to love Him, to pity His sorrows, and to see that this greatest act of Almighty God was performed solely to gain for Himself the love of man! 

There is nothing more that God could do to impress upon man the incomprehensible depths of His love for man than to leave His glory behind and enter into our world, embracing a life filled with suffering, for the exclusive and singular purpose of saving mankind. Christmas, therefore, is about so much more than the joy we long to experience. It is about appreciating the sorrows and sufferings which our Redeemer willed to take upon Himself in order to give to us this joy, a joy He describes as “My joy” with which He desires that we are “filled.”

Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s descent “to seek and to save the lost.” Our union with Him by grace inclines us to do the same: “He who believes in Me will also do the works that I do.” The most complete act of gratitude for the immense Divine gift of the Incarnation is to imitate our Redeemer as completely as possible: suffering freely with Him as God wills, and seeking out those in need. 

Christmas, therefore, can truly be embraced as a season of giving: a season characterized by a spontaneous desire within all Christians to give freely of all that God has given them for the good of their neighbor out of a love for God. Like the widow who, “out of her poverty,” gave her last penny, “her whole living,” for the glory of God, and like the Son of God Himself, who gave up the glory of Paradise and entered into poverty to save mankind, we too must use this season to joyfully come to the aid of those around us: buying presents for those who cannot buy them themselves, cooking meals for those without adequate food, funding shelters to provide warmth for those who are cold in the dark of winter, supporting those in sorrow or agony, praying for those whose families are torn by strife.

When the Christ Child came into this world, He looked for the poorest place to be born. It is from this pulpit of the wooden manger that He preached His first sermon. It was here, in the renunciation of the riches of the world, that He revealed to be the location of the greatest riches of human life. This Christmas, whether it is celebrated in sickness or in health, in good times or in bad, the Divine spring of joy and love is open to all and ready to be poured out. Let us look past the distractions of this fallen world and cling to the eternal treasures which are obtained not through health or wealth but through the renunciation of this world by which we “lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.” It is then, by following the path of the poor Christ Child, who would one day age into the Man of Sorrows, that we will set our hearts firmly on the God who loves us and obtain the joys that never end.

Though poor in the things that the world would crave, Christ imparted His riches in the form of Truth: that God loves man and is ready to provide all that we need if we but turn to Him and accept His immense love. As His children, and as Christ’s brothers and sisters, the truest gifts we can share with the world at Christmas are those that are revealed in the Incarnation: that God so loved the world, and we should too.

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For a truly marvelous presentation on the Incarnation, get a copy of A Novena for Christmas: The Meditations of St. Alphonsus Liguori by Slaying Dragons Press. These reflections will transform your understanding of the Incarnation and the true meaning of Christmas. St. Alphonsus Liguori is a Doctor of the Church for a reason. EBook from Slaying Dragons Press exclusively. (Paperback and Hardcover as well, HERE!)