“The Supreme Gift”
By
Robert John Colon
1. The supreme gift for Christmas might seem to some of us not a possession or
an earthly destination or even a visitation of friends and families but, above
all, the peace that these might promise. Pope John Paul II said: “The attainment
of peace is the summing-up and crowning of all our aspirations. We sense
that peace is fullness and joy” (1). Even if these words refer in particular to
peace between peoples and peace in one’s country and peace in one’s
neighborhood, can’t the words refer us to a desire for peace in oneself?
2. “Peace is… above all a gift of God” (2). On Christmas Night is born He Who “by giving his life on the Cross, became our Peace” (3). But “to welcome the gift of peace, we must open ourselves to the truth that is revealed in the person of Jesus, who taught us the 'content' and 'method' of peace, that is, love” (4).
3. Love! Calling man “to existence through love,” God “called him at the same time for love” (5). “In its most profound reality, love is essentially a gift” (6). Pope John Paul II’s The Gospel of Life says: “He who had come ‘not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mk 10:45), attains on the Cross the heights of love: ‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (Jn 15:13)” (7). Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est says: “His death on the Cross is the culmination of that turning of God against himself in which he gives himself in order to raise man up and save him. This is love in its most radical form” (8). This is true: “God is love” (1 John 4:8, Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition {RSV:CE} [Ignatius Press, San Francisco]). These words are from The First Letter of John, and Saint John also has said: “God is light and in him is no darkness” (1 John 1:5, {RSV:CE} [Ignatius Press, San Francisco]).
4. How fitting are the words of The Book of Isaiah at Christmas – “those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isaiah 9:2, {RSV:CE} [Ignatius Press, San Francisco])? Initially, “light means knowledge; it means truth, as contrasted with the darkness of falsehood and ignorance. Light gives us life, it shows us the way” (9). Jesus Christ is the “true light that enlightens” all (John 1:9, {RSV:CE} [Ignatius Press, San Francisco]). The “decisive answer to every one of man’s questions, his religious and moral questions in particular, is given by Jesus Christ, or rather is Jesus Christ himself, as the Second Vatican Council recalls: ‘In fact, it is only in the mystery of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future man, namely, of Christ the Lord. It is Christ, the last Adam, who fully discloses man to himself and unfolds his noble calling by revealing the mystery of the Father and the Father’s love.’” (10)
5. If we are “able to focus our
attention on the Pierced one (cf. Jn 19:37, Zech 12:10),” don’t we
recognize “the plan of the Father who, moved by love (cf. Jn 3:16), sent
his only-begotten Son into the world to redeem man”? (11) When Jesus humbled
Himself to come in company with us as a man, He fulfilled the plan the Father
formed long ago, and for us, He opened the way to salvation. (12) What is the
Father’s plan? In The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians, we read: “God…
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... chose us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love
to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to
the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:3-6, {RSV:CE} [Ignatius
Press, San Francisco]). Don’t these statements really concern predestination? In
divine revelation, the meaning of the word predestination is the eternal
choice of God, a fatherly, positive, and intelligent “choice, a choice prompted
by love” (13).
Together with the decision that puts it
into effect, namely, the plan of creation and redemption, this choice pertains
to the intimate life of the most Holy Trinity. It is made from eternity by the
Father together with the Son in the Holy Spirit. It is a choice which, according
to St. Paul, precedes the creation of the world, ("before the foundation of the
world," Eph 1:4), and of humanity in the world. Even before being created, man
is "chosen" by God. This choice takes place in the eternal Son ("in him," Eph
1:4), that is, in the Word of the eternal Mind. Man is chosen in the Son to
participate in the same sonship by divine adoption. The essence of the mystery
of predestination consists in this. It manifests the Father's eternal love ("in
love, having destined us to be his sons through Jesus Christ," Eph 1:4-5).
Predestination contains man's eternal vocation to participate in the very nature
of God. It is a vocation to holiness, through the grace of adoption as sons ("to
be holy and blameless before him" Eph 1:4).
(14)
6. Even if we have, just above, put to use – in reference to the eternal God –
temporal analogies of human expressions and words, don’t we perhaps “find out”
about the Father’s plan? “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a
plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed
life” (15). “God is infinitely good” (16). “'Only in freedom can man direct
himself toward goodness...man's dignity demands that he act according to a
knowing and free choice...' (GS 17).” (17) But, as the Catechism of the
Catholic Church says, “As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively
to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing
between good and evil” (18). Man can abuse his freedom. And he did. The
“tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17, {RSV:CE}
[Ignatius Press, San Francisco]), which has the meaning or function of a symbol
(if we may say this), calls forth the limits which are incapable of being
overcome, “that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with
trust” (19). Perhaps we have heard that the basis of every relationship is
trust. Even if this is not always true in reference to relationships of humans,
isn’t it true that trust is important in the relationship of Creator and
creature? “Man is dependent on his Creator and subject to the laws of creation
and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom.” (20) “Man, tempted by
the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his
freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of… All
subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his
goodness.” (21) Pope John Paul II said:
People who are destined to go to heaven
are simple like children, and like children are full of trust, rich in goodness
and pure. Only people of this sort can find in God a Father and, thanks to
Jesus, can become in their own turn children of God. Is not this the main
message of Christmas? We read in Saint John: "And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14); and again: "To all who received him, who
believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (Jn
1:12). Children of God!... God wants us all to become his adopted children by
grace. Here we have the real reason for Christmas joy
(22)
7.
Couldn’t we say that Christmas is, in fact, a love
story, the story of God’s love, within a “bigger story” of God’s love, which
includes the Death of Jesus on the Cross? Pope Benedict XVI said in one
Christmas Homily: “God has become one of us, so that we can be with him and
become like him.” (23) We can become like God. Wasn’t the desire to “be
like God” (Genesis 3:5, {RSV:CE}
[Ignatius Press, San Francisco]) related to man’s
first sin? Man wanted to “be like God” (Genesis 3:5,
{RSV:CE}
[Ignatius Press, San Francisco]), but before God, without God, and not in
agreement or conformity with God (24). But we can be like God “in
God and with God”; we can love; in Him and with Him, as Pope Benedict XVI
has said, “I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only
take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which
has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings. Then I learn to look
on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the
perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend. Going beyond exterior
appearances, I perceive in others an interior desire for a sign of love...
Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their
outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave” (25).
But love of neighbor goes hand in hand with love of God. These two, you might
say, form one commandment. But doesn’t this commandment, in calling us to love,
also call us to peace? Peace is a fruit of love as is joy, and all these – love,
peace, and joy – are fruits of the Spirit (26).
8. But what is peace? What is joy? What is happiness? Are these different or the
same? Do peace, joy, and happiness come from God and from Him alone? If I say
“yes” to this last question, what will I say to those who, perhaps having
acquired a deep attachment to sin, perhaps having lived in the darkness of sin,
and perhaps just beginning to step away from sin, see living a life of love of
God and neighbor as depression? What will I say to all those who, “in the
desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger” (27), feel that God has
deserted them and perhaps have, after that feeling of being deserted by God,
themselves deserted God?
The question about suffering is a difficult question. Pope John Paul II said:
[People] react to suffering in
different ways. But in general it can be said that almost always the individual
enters suffering with a typically human protest and with the question
"why". He asks the meaning of his suffering and seeks an answer to this
question on the human level. Certainly he often puts this question to God, and
to Christ. Furthermore, he cannot help noticing that the one to whom he puts the
question is himself suffering and wishes to answer him from the Cross,
from the heart of his own suffering. Nevertheless, it often takes time, even
a long time, for this answer to begin to be interiorly perceived. For Christ
does not answer directly and he does not answer in the abstract this human
questioning about the meaning of suffering. Man hears Christ's saving answer as
he himself gradually becomes a sharer in the sufferings of Christ.
(28)
9. Let us not put into action, right now,
a thorough meditation on suffering. For now, let us think – even for a short
time – about peace, joy, and happiness. Pope Paul VI spoke of happiness or a
certain kind of happiness, you might say, and said: “Its most noble expression
is joy, or 'happiness' in the strict sense, when man, on the level of his higher
faculties, finds his peace and satisfaction in the possession of a known and
loved good” (29). Pope Paul VI went on: “man experiences joy when he finds
himself in harmony with nature, and especially in the encounter, sharing and
communion with other people. All the more does he know spiritual joy or
happiness when his spirit enters into possession of God, known and loved as the
supreme and immutable good” (30). Even though heaven “is… the state of supreme,
definitive happiness” (31), on Earth, if we know God clearly and love Him, we
can experience “the happiness, even though imperfect, that is brought by the
knowledge of God and by the certainty of having a link with Him that even death
cannot break” (32).
10. So can’t we say that “joy” or “happiness” is when we find peace and
satisfaction in the possession of a good – a good that is known and loved? If we
can say this, then can’t we say that sin can’t bring “joy” or “happiness”? Even
if sin is “caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods” (33), and, even if,
for that reason, it relates to a good, sin is evil. Sin is not true “joy” or
“happiness” even though we might think or want it to be. And saying “no” to sin
might not seem to be joy or happiness. “Keeping God’s law in particular
situations can be difficult, extremely difficult” (34). But even in the
difficult moments, is it possible to have joy? Pope Paul VI said, “the disciple…
always remains, in his inmost being, in joy, because he is in communion with the
Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (35).
11. Where does peace fit in all this? Is it the same as joy? Joy is brought by
genuine peace (36). If the source of the disciple’s joy is being in communion
with the Father and the Son, Whose “living mutual love” is “the Spirit, who
proceeds from the Father and the Son” (37), doesn’t that make peace that which
brings joy (through communion with the Father and the Son), if peace is the
source of that communion? To understand this, it might help to bring before
ourselves something Pope John XXIII said about peace. He said: “Peace is before
all else an interior thing… and its fundamental condition is a loving and filial
dependence on the will of God.” (38) The fundamental or basic condition of peace
is a loving dependence of a child on the will of God. One might look at this as
saying that this dependence is necessary for peace, but one might also look at
it as saying that the structure of peace is dependence on the will of God. This
last way of looking at it might be thought of as in line with some or all of St.
Thomas Aquinas’s thoughts on peace, even a peace that is imperfect. One might
draw this conclusion from St. Thomas’s thought on “not perfect” peace: that this
peace is about the main movement of the soul finding rest in God, but that this
peace is disturbed by certain things from within and outside (39). If peace, in
fact, is in a way the loving dependence of a child on the will of God, doesn’t
this bring about or isn’t it even already a union of wills – the union of my
will with God’s Will? Doesn’t this bring about or isn’t it even already
communion with the Father and the Son, and doesn’t this communion result in joy?
Some might say this communion doesn’t always result in joy. Of what joy are we
speaking? Of joy as a sentiment? “Sentiments come and go.” (40) Sometimes we
might experience the sentiment or feeling of the absence of God – Who is there
for us even in “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23: 4, {RSV:CE}
[Ignatius Press, San Francisco]) – and see ourselves as little birds who
sometimes seem incapable of believing that anything else exists except the
clouds that surround us; but those can be moments of joy; it can be real
happiness to remain there and gaze at the invisible light that is hidden from
our faith (41). Jesus Christ is the “true light that enlightens” all (John 1:9,
{RSV:CE} [Ignatius Press, San Francisco]). But light not only means
knowledge; as a force that gives rise to heat, light also means love, and love
is the light that can give us the courage required to continue living (42). Love
is the method of peace, but also the content of peace; love unites us to God
(43).
12. The peace which can be present even during turmoil, which might be called
“the peace of love”, might also be called “the peace of faith.” “Faith is a
supernatural gift from God.” (44) “Faith… gives us the victorious certainty that
it is really true: God is love!” (45) This truth has been revealed to us by
Jesus Christ, (46) “God's supreme gift to humanity” (47) and “our peace”
(Ephesians 2:14, {RSV:CE} [Ignatius Press, San Francisco]).
Look upon us Father, Who sent
Your Son to redeem man,
Look upon us Lord Jesus Christ, Who is man’s Redeemer,
Look upon us Holy Spirit, by Your power the Redeemer was conceived,
Look upon us Mother Mary, Mother of the Redeemer,
Look upon us Saint Joseph, guardian of the Redeemer,
Look upon us Most Holy Trinity and look upon us Holy Family.
Help us to trust in Him
and even in spite of our weaknesses and falls,
help us to draw close to Him Who
“is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”
Who “has destined us to share in that exchange.” (48)
First given December 22, 2006.
NOTES
(1) Pope John Paul II, Message, Day of
Peace, 1 January 1979, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19781221_xii-world-day-for-peace_en.html).
(2) Pope John Paul II, Message, Day of Peace, 1 January 1979, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19781221_xii-world-day-for-peace_en.html).
(3) Pope John Paul II, Message, Day of Peace, 1 January 1979, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19781221_xii-world-day-for-peace_en.html).
(4) Benedict XVI, Angelus, Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, XXXIX World Peace
Day, 1 January 2006, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/angelus/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20060101_world-day-peace_en.html),
(Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(5) Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio,
number 11, November 22, 1981, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio_en.html),
(Copyright, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(6) Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio,
number 14, November 22, 1981, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio_en.html),
(Copyright, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(7) John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, number 51, March 25, 1995 (Dayton,
Ohio: One More Soul, 2004).
(8) Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, number 12, 25
December 2005, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005).
(9) Benedict XVI, Homily, 24 December 2005, (Midnight Mass), (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20051224_christmas_en.html),
(Copyright 2005, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(10) Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, The Splendor of Truth, number
2, August 6, 1993 (Boston, MA: St. Paul Books & Media); source of the quotation
Pope John Paul II used, (see “Notes” of the Encyclical – note 1.) “Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gauduim et Spes, 22.”
(11) Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, number 19, 25
December 2005, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005).
(12) Cf. Preface of Advent I.
(13) John Paul II, General Audience, “The Mystery of Predestination in Christ”,
May 28, 1986, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19860528en.html).
(14) John Paul II, General Audience, “The Mystery of Predestination in Christ”,
May 28, 1986, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19860528en.html).
(15) Catechism of the Catholic Church (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994;
English translation for the United States of America – United States Catholic
Conference, Inc.–Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994), number 1.
(16) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 385.
(17) GS = Gaudium et spes (Promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7,
1965). Quoted by John Paul II, General Audience, “Man Is a Subject of Knowledge
and Freedom”, April 23, 1986, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19860423en.html).
(18) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 1732.
(19) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 396 (emphasis added).
(20) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 396.
(21) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 397 (emphasis added); see
Genesis 3:1-11 and Romans 5:19.
(22) Pope John Paul II, Letter to Children, December 13, 1994, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_13121994_children_en.html),
(Copyright, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(23) Benedict XVI, Homily, 24 December 2005, (Midnight Mass), (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20051224_christmas_en.html),
(Copyright 2005, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(24) Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 398.
(25) Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, number 18, 25
December 2005, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005) (emphasis added).
(26) Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, numbers 1829 and 1832. See
also Galatians 5:22-23.
(27) Benedict XVI, Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI For Lent 2006, 29
September, 2005,
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20050929_lent-2006_en.html)
(Copyright 2005 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(28) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris, number 26, 11
February 1984, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html)
(Copyright 1984, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
(29) Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino, I, May 9, 1975,
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html);
see note 7 of the Apostolic Exhortation: “7. Cf. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Theologica, I-II, q. 31, a. 3.”
(30) Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino, I, May 9, 1975,
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html);
see note 8 of the Apostolic Exhortation: “8. Cf. Saint Thomas Aquinas, ibid.,
II-II, q. 28, aa. 1, 4.”
(31) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 1024.
(32) Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino, I, May 9, 1975, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html).
(33) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 1849.
(34) Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, The Splendor of Truth, number
102, August 6, 1993 (Boston, MA: St. Paul Books & Media).
(35) Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino, III, May 9,
1975, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html).
(36) Cf. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity 2004 (see the Pastoral and Theological Introduction).
(37) Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino, III, May 9,
1975, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html).
(38) Pope John XXIII, Christmas message of Pope John XXIII, December 23, 1959,
(see the part “Peace of the heart” under the part “Christian peace”) (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/speeches/1959/documents/hf_j-xxiii_spe_19591223_christmas_en.html).
(39) Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, see the Second Part’s Second
Part, Question 29, the Second Article, Reply to the 4th Objection.
(40) Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, number 17, 25
December 2005, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005).
(41) Cf. Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino, IV (see
also note 53 of the Exhortation: “53. Letter 175. Manuscrits autobiographiques,
Lisieux. 1956, p. 52.”
(42) Cf. Benedict XVI, Homily, 24 December 2005, (Midnight Mass); cf. Benedict
XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, number 39.
(43) Cf. Benedict XVI, Angelus, Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, XXXIX World
Peace Day, 1 January 2006; cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est,
number 18.
(44) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 179.
(45) Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, number 39, 25
December 2005, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005).
(46) Cf. Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the celebration of the World Day of
Peace 2007, number 16.
(47) John Paul II, Angelus, 19 December 2004, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/angelus/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_ang_20041219_en.html).
(48) Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 221 (emphasis added).