I know exactly what I want for Christmas! I know the perfect gift, and the best part: I don’t have to wait until Christmas morning.
Christmas is still a few weeks away, but this is the time of year when we’re thinking about presents, wish lists, and children’s anxious anticipations of what will be under the tree. I’m no exception. If I were to write out a whole list, I’d have all kinds of cool stuff written down, from sacramentals and religious goods to camping gear and airsoft guns. We all have hopes and desires this time of the year, be it gifts, good food, playing in the snow, or time with loved ones. Whatever those desires are, they all have some things in common: we see good in them; we see something that we think will make us happy.
You hear parents say sometimes that they like to give their kids “whatever they want for Christmas.” They love their children and want them to be happy. Our earthly parents, however, can only do so much to fulfill their children’s desires. Sometimes this is because their children’s desires go beyond their parents’ means. Sometimes it’s because children want what’s bad for them, and as truly loving parents, they must refuse.
What about with our heavenly parents? God the Father certainly desires our good, as any loving father would, since he is the source of all good fatherhood. Since Mary, our mother, has perfectly conformed her will to God’s, she also desires our good. God is not limited (by anything, let alone by means), so he can provide for all our desires and uses all kinds of ways to shower us with gifts that show his love for us. He does this every day, but we remember this in a special way on Christmas, when God gave his only begotten son through Mary: Jesus Christ.
Out of all the good things that we can desire this Christmas, Jesus is the one I long for the most. It’s been beautiful to see how this desire has grown at the seminary. I desire now more than ever to be with Jesus, to encounter him in the gifts he gives us. Kids usually want every morning to be Christmas morning because that’s when they receive their presents, but when Jesus is the top of your wish list, every day is Christmas morning. Every day has the thrill of getting everything you want in the whole world. Every day we receive more gifts than could fit under a tree.
The beauty of God’s creation, the generosity of another person, the growth in love after a holy hour: these are all ways God showers us with gifts, but especially in the Most Holy Eucharist. Communion has become for me like that moment when you tear back the wrapping paper and see your number one item, the first thing on your wish list. As Christ strengthens my devotion for the Eucharist, I get a similar joy when I kneel back down in the pew and know that I have everything I ever wanted and so much more.
Jesus is the fulfillment of all our desires. We desire what is good, and there is nothing that exists, or ever has existed, or ever will exist that is more good than God, who is goodness itself. I’ll appreciate some presents for Christmas, but the box I want more than any isn’t under the tree. It’s in the chapel, with the greatest gift inside.