Reflection: Everyone's asking - 'What's on your Christmas List?'
Deep, pure, selfless gratitude to the infant King for humbling Himself for my sake -- this is the joy that is the antidote for the poison, and it’s all I want for Christmas.
Advertisement
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Even my children are making a list for Santa. I can't help but envy them the simplicity of their lists. I delight in their innocent childhood joy over a doll or stuffed animal or some other toy they're wishing for.
My own heart is filled with less childlike desires, and after careful consideration, I have boiled my "list" down to one thing. One BIG thing. Only one thing I want for Christmas this year...
I want to stop wanting.
Wanting breeds discontent.
Wanting infects my mind with delusions of inadequacy.
Wanting unsettles my spirit and poisons my heart with "If only..." and "What about me?"
Wanting distorts my vision, or just plain leaves me blind.
(Sure, there's wanting material "things." The seductive lure of STUFF is almost inescapable, and at Christmastime, it's disguised as gift-giving...yikes! But that's way too easy. By now we should all know that "stuff" doesn't fill the hole in our hearts or our lives.)
I'm talking about something much more important, and more difficult to pin down.
I want to stop wanting things to be the way I think they should be.
Stop wanting a different talent than the one I’ve been given.
Stop wanting a different place at the table than where I’ve been seated.
Stop wanting God to work in my life the way I think He should, to accomplish what I’ve decided would be good for me or my family.
Stop wanting more FROM God instead of more OF God.
This is the insidious way the wanting poisons my spirit, my relationships, my view of my life, my response to my heavenly Father. It's a deep, unspoken, almost subconscious expectation I have for my life.
The problem is my desires are self-centered, not God-centered. I secretly want to experience some blessing or ability someone else has… and why shouldn’t I? What’s wrong with me that I can’t have/achieve/receive what that person has? And so, the wanting grows…
Remember the lessons of the potter and the clay? Perhaps the disease of discontent finds its roots there. “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing”? Isaiah 29:16
And again in Romans 9:21… “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”
Mother Teresa has inspired me to make a radical shift in thinking. “He can do with me as it pleaseth Him, without even a thought of consulting me. I just want to be His own little one – if He so wants, otherwise I will be happy to be just nothing and He everything.” (Come Be My Light)
If God so chooses me to be a lowly pot used only for common, unseen tasks, it is His right. Who am I to demand otherwise? I have no right to expect nobility or applause or credit for myself, if He has chosen commonness for me. He has still given me everything by virtue of grace and the cross. If He gives me nothing else, ever, it must be alright with me. I must be happy to be nothing and He everything.
It is a daring prayer to say, and I’m not at all sure I have the goods to back it up, but I think this is the only wanting that will ever be satisfied.
God, grant me a heart that is empty of myself to the point of being nothing so long as You are everything. Then this disease of discontent, this poison of fruitless longing that leaves me sad and useless will be cured. If I want for anything, let it be more of Jesus.
The child in the manger gave me the ultimate demonstration of this Himself.
The Potter became Himself the lowliest pot and filled Himself with my wretched self-centeredness and sin. This is the unspeakable gift of Christmas! Deep, pure, selfless gratitude to the infant King for humbling Himself for my sake -- this is the joy that is the antidote for the poison, and it’s all I want for Christmas.
****
Jennifer Hartline is a Catholic Army wife and stay-at-home mother of three precious kids who writes frequently on topics of Catholic faith and daily living. She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.
My own heart is filled with less childlike desires, and after careful consideration, I have boiled my "list" down to one thing. One BIG thing. Only one thing I want for Christmas this year...
I want to stop wanting.
Wanting breeds discontent.
Wanting infects my mind with delusions of inadequacy.
Wanting unsettles my spirit and poisons my heart with "If only..." and "What about me?"
Wanting distorts my vision, or just plain leaves me blind.
(Sure, there's wanting material "things." The seductive lure of STUFF is almost inescapable, and at Christmastime, it's disguised as gift-giving...yikes! But that's way too easy. By now we should all know that "stuff" doesn't fill the hole in our hearts or our lives.)
I'm talking about something much more important, and more difficult to pin down.
I want to stop wanting things to be the way I think they should be.
Stop wanting a different talent than the one I’ve been given.
Stop wanting a different place at the table than where I’ve been seated.
Stop wanting God to work in my life the way I think He should, to accomplish what I’ve decided would be good for me or my family.
Stop wanting more FROM God instead of more OF God.
This is the insidious way the wanting poisons my spirit, my relationships, my view of my life, my response to my heavenly Father. It's a deep, unspoken, almost subconscious expectation I have for my life.
The problem is my desires are self-centered, not God-centered. I secretly want to experience some blessing or ability someone else has… and why shouldn’t I? What’s wrong with me that I can’t have/achieve/receive what that person has? And so, the wanting grows…
Remember the lessons of the potter and the clay? Perhaps the disease of discontent finds its roots there. “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing”? Isaiah 29:16
And again in Romans 9:21… “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”
Mother Teresa has inspired me to make a radical shift in thinking. “He can do with me as it pleaseth Him, without even a thought of consulting me. I just want to be His own little one – if He so wants, otherwise I will be happy to be just nothing and He everything.” (Come Be My Light)
If God so chooses me to be a lowly pot used only for common, unseen tasks, it is His right. Who am I to demand otherwise? I have no right to expect nobility or applause or credit for myself, if He has chosen commonness for me. He has still given me everything by virtue of grace and the cross. If He gives me nothing else, ever, it must be alright with me. I must be happy to be nothing and He everything.
It is a daring prayer to say, and I’m not at all sure I have the goods to back it up, but I think this is the only wanting that will ever be satisfied.
God, grant me a heart that is empty of myself to the point of being nothing so long as You are everything. Then this disease of discontent, this poison of fruitless longing that leaves me sad and useless will be cured. If I want for anything, let it be more of Jesus.
The child in the manger gave me the ultimate demonstration of this Himself.
The Potter became Himself the lowliest pot and filled Himself with my wretched self-centeredness and sin. This is the unspeakable gift of Christmas! Deep, pure, selfless gratitude to the infant King for humbling Himself for my sake -- this is the joy that is the antidote for the poison, and it’s all I want for Christmas.
****
Jennifer Hartline is a Catholic Army wife and stay-at-home mother of three precious kids who writes frequently on topics of Catholic faith and daily living. She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords:
NEWSLETTERS »
Rate This Article
1 - 9 of 9 Comments
Leave a Comment
More Christmas / Advent News
- A Layman's Plea for Tolerance of Catholics
- A Question For The Christmas Season: Do You Want To Become A Saint?
- Every Leader Supporting Abortion is Herod, Every Child Killed a Holy Innocent
- Feast of St. Stephen, Proto-Martyr, Calls us to Reflect on the Gift of Deacons
- Fr. Sly on the Feast of St John in the Octave of Christmas
- Welcoming the Birth of the Redeemer in the Womb: Jesus was an Embryonic Person
- Merry Christmas: Love is Born on Christmas Morn and the World is Born Anew
- Pope St Leo the Great: Christian, Remember Your Dignity
- Pope Benedict XVI: If God's Light is Extinguished, Man's Divine Dignity is also Extinguished
Featured News
- Fr. Paul Schenck: Finding Living Faith on Catechetical Sunday
- The Movie Yellow: Incest as 'Normal' and Cassavates's Slides Into the World of Woes
- The Chicago School Teachers Strike Reveals the Need For School Choice
- The Sexual Barbarians and the Dissolution of Culture
- The Happy Priest Challenges Us to Ask: Who is Jesus to Me?
- Michael Coren on Canadian Public Schools: Teachers, leave those kids alone
- We Cannot Ignore Our Consciences: Cardinal Dolan On Religious Liberty
- In the Face of Danger, Successor of Peter Travels to Lebanon as a Messenger of Peace
- Reflections on the Dignity and Vocation of Women: Who or What?
I love the simplicity of this article Jen - it is so true - if we open our hearts to what God wants from us - we can do His work here on Earth unselfishly - thanks for a great read!
I want total conversion of my family, conversion of the world and our country, which I think would translate in an end to immorality, abortion, poverty, war, and a host of other ills that plague us. I also want complete conversion of the Church of Christ, which would translate into more vocations, true, holy and dedicated vocations. In order to accomplish all this, we are in need of Jesus coming again, which I am asking for......Come, Lord Jesus!
Excellent Jennie you point to everything and all we need a Christmas. May God grant us all your wisdom. Happy Christmas and New Year to you and your family. God Bless You.
Powerful, Jennie!! The depth of your spirituality is awesome and down right practical. You are touching the depth of my soul. Love you, Aunt Jane
A beautiful reflection. I wanted to give a different type of homily for this Christmas and I am collecting materials for that. Surely this reflection will be of great help for my sermon. It will also help me to change my personal life. This world which is today filled with all filthy things is need to be changed.May this reflection be a starting point. Thanks a lot.
It is such a simple way, but such a beautiful and effective one - a way in which we can each be lights in the darkness that so threatens to engulf humankind. Thank you for your gift of expressing it for all of us.
That's all I want for Christmas, too! Amen!
Beautiful reflection and has made me think of what's really important this season. I'm sure we all can find a time when we've thought "I'd be happier if I could just not be in debt." yet we go out and spend. Thanks for such words of wisdom!
What a beautiful "wish" list. One that I hope all of us will have, for Jesus Christ is truly the most special gift of the season and the One that keeps on giving all year long.