The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1953-12-25
Just Among Ourselves

Since that far distant day when the angels sang
Gods glory on the hills of Bethlehem what var
liant chorus of song on the Christmas theme has
gone hurtling up against the clouds! None of the
elements of this great chorus has sounded more
perfect note than the song that came down from
the clouds to the watching shepherds. Much of art
and of pety has gone into the forming of carols and
sometimes much that is neither art piety
When the first angel appeared to the shepherds
he told them IN the most direct and manifest way
that God had become man: Fear not for behold
/ bring you good tidings of great Joy that shall
be to all the people: for this day is born to you
Savior who is Christ the Lord, in the city of
David. And this shall be sign unto you. You
shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid In manger."
Then came the first and best of all the carols: "And
suddenly there was with the angel multitude of
the heavenly army, prasing God and saying Glory
to God in the highest, and earth peace to men of
good will" There have the cry Of Joy out of
heaven itself because the glorious prophecy of
Isaias has been fulfilled: God Himself will come
and will save you"
Now, it is normal, and natural, and right that
Christians should repeat the angels song, and var
iousy express the theme of it in words of their
own. II is completely desirable that the Fact of
Christmas and JOY OF Christmas should find human
expression in every way, and that the passing of
centuries should not see the passing of human eli.
forts to find other and still other forms and formu-
las in which TO express the unfading glory of the
Event and its Commem0raton.
And perhaps il is to be expected that many, if
not most of the changing chants for the unchanging
Wonder that we celebrate always, and particularly
at Christmas time should be only bumbling efforts.
Men seldom coldly artistic when they speak
sing of great and stirring things So long the
song is fitted to the occasion and holds true spirit
and comes out of a loving heart, it has all the art
il needs to make it acceptable.
And there can be no complaint if the joy of
Christian hearts should. the occasion Of Christ
mas, find everything delightful and that men should
sing happily of all the facts and faneleS that eye
beholds or imagination pictures. There is r-
reverence and nothing alien TO the spirit OF Christ
and of Christmas in the light and happy
about bells and reindeer dncluding the rednosed
one) and gifts. and children delighted with gifts
and frosty Snow-men. Such songs like the Juggling
tricks of the Jester who had nothing else to offer
be an expression of honest piety, or at least
OF JOY which Is born of piety
II is only when the Central Fact of Christmas is
forgotten in the pleasing froth of incidental circum
stances that objection need be raised. And there is
far less danger oil losing Christmas Iii jolly
ngles any topic at all that be tied into the
time than there is In the soberly sentimental and fan
tasticay untrue, narratives about children turning
into angels angels being distressed lost There
is vastly more of the true spirit of Christmas in
Rudolph than in The LtttleSt Angel
But there is reason to utter loud hoSls Of pro-
test against the narrators and the Songsters who
completely devitalize Christmas and sometimes
wholly falsfy it. Just now we are hearing song
which informs that Christmas is feeling in your
heart person who can sing that song seriously
has no idea whatever of what Christmas is.
II would not require too great stretch Of
imagination to hear the angels at Bethlehem break
ing into rousing Christmas jingle after their first
great carol had been sung But not even the widest
fancy lend verisimitude to the picture ofthelead
ing angel doubtless fine tenor stepping forward
TO inform the shepherds Ito the accompaniment of
humming, and perhaps strumming chorus) that
Christmas is feeling in the heart
Christmas can stir feeling in the heart but its
main business is to revive knowledge in the mind
and put new power into the virtue of the will. Al
Christmas time we recall the fact that God Himself
became man, and was born TO live and suffer and
die so that We might have a chance to get TO
heaven And at Christmas time we stir up our will
10 effort so that we may take full advantage of
that chance If there is nice feeling in the heart
about this il is we'll if not, there is no essential
loss.
II is great part of our common human misery,
some have called il the human tragedy,--that we
unable to entertain high emotion about any
fine thing without presently clinging to the
emotion and forgetting the thing. The Christ
mas feeling in the heart becomes frothy
and meaningless unless it be kept aSsociat
ed closely with the Christmas conviction in
the head The surge Of Christmas emotion is of only
the slightest value beauty il il be divorced from
surge Of love for God and strong resolution to
serve Him.
Too many people make their religion a matter
Of feeling in the heart. Religious feeling is good
thing IN ITS place; its place Is in the heart of per
son nightly determined TO live religiously Too
many people make even human love feeling in
the heart whereas such feeling is III the overall
view Of devoted life, about five per cent as com
pared with ninetyfive per cent of resolute will to
stand faithfully to ones duty little less feeling
and great deal more of resolution would reduce
the divorce rate to the vanishing point.
Ii is great pity that the tremendous Fact of
Christmas with the equally tremendous weight
Of responsibility il lays upon Christian conscienees
should be recommended TO the people, by means
Of song, as only feeling IN the heart. In the day
when people ardently taught, especially in
Al IL