Beyond Greed

Almost all of us enjoy going into our favorite stores, around holiday times, to enjoy the scenery and items we may purchase each year.  Taking in the aroma of holiday treats, from pumpkin spice coffees to candy cane flavored cocoas amidst the amazing Christmas decorations with our loved ones can sometimes be second to none; however, there has been a far-to-premature push of the holidays these past few years.

There is something going on here in our culture beyond greed.  When Christmas is propagated before Halloween – All Saints Day’s Eve – in department and discount stores, there is something amiss in my belief more than just the common complaint of ours about corporate greed.

Each year, the time frame gets longer for Christmas sales.  As a society we are allowing our feet to go before our head, so to speak, putting the cart before the horse. The whole tempo leaves us walking out the door and drinking our morning coffees on the way to work, in an Adult-Size Sippy Cup to avoid spillage on our white shirt or blouse, with one shoe untied and our mind in the workplace instead of the fact that we already are warming up our engine, as we re-start our already idling car.  “My Kingdom is not of this world,” Our Lord Jesus stated, and for good reason.

What could be going on?  Why would Christmas be “celebrated” in early October, if not for greed?  Maybe franchisees and big business owners are desperate for quicker – and elongated – sales, so as to take the edge off the current financial crisis due to skyrocketing gas prices, food prices, etc that even the wealthy decision-makers at the top of these markets are finally starting to feel?

I say no to all of these.  I think something much bigger is going on here than just ordinary greed.  Yes, Paul states accurately, and under the influence of the Spirit of God that the love of money is at the root of all evil; however, sometimes (oftentimes?) that perpetuation of the love of money is fueled by something also, namely a new order that is being pushed so as to make us sick of celebrating Christmas (aka, celebrating Christ).  It is also trivialization.  I can almost hear the enemy now, discussing with his minions more and more ways to make us “sick and tired” of celebrating and talking about Jesus’ birth.  All good war generals and leaders know that if you can’t immediately destroy an enemy, then at least wear him out.  The poor celebrate Christmas as well as the rich – and all those in between.

There is a spiritual war going on here.  The root of the war is jealousy, and as Jesse Romero points out, Satan has a “Father wound” in a sense, a common term used in the world of psychology regarding children with affirmation issues.  Satan is a jealous being, and not to be fooled with.  Only Our Lord can handle him, who was once his Friend and Creator.

The enemy is far too intelligent for us to deal with; hence Dr. Scott Hahn admonishes us in his book Understanding Our Father that we need the Sacraments and prayer to stand any chance against this enemy of ours.  And a big part of that strength is in the family.  Our homes are small Churches, and they are under attack more than ever, in fact, they have been eroded before they can ever begin, a sort of “shadow banning” has taken place, not even allowing the blessed child to be born, never mind baptized.

So if this enemy of ours can commercialize Christmas, to the point of disgust and/or trivialization, then he has won ground in one other area of our lives in the spiritual order.  On that note, I recently heard a quote that said “we are not bodies with souls, we are souls with a body.”  How very important is the balloting in our sentences! The enemy has prostituted Christmas into a long, drawn-out commercialized holiday, not holyday.  Ah, but as always, Christ is a million steps ahead of this wicked, murderous lost creature, once good, now evil.  This commercial “error” has us talking about Christmas even more.

Even bringing it up a little more than usual, each year.  Albeit, the circumstances are not good in creating the issue, but the enemy’s sword becomes turned in on himself once again in a perpetual suicide of the spirit thereby advancing God’s Kingdom. Can you think of a better way to get revenge than to use your enemy’s tactics to advance your cause?  Just look at Job in The Old Testament.  Job’s worst miseries became his greatest advancement for God and himself, as well as his restored family.

Too much of a good thing is not a good thing, kind of like the fad (now popular) of “birthday cake” flavored sweets… another enemy tactic? I could see something take place like this as fromThe Screwtape Letters, Satan explains:

Wormwood, get them to trivialize the birthdays… yes, reduce the significance… just as immodesty reduces the sense of shame, get them to see the importance of one’s life as an everyday matter, a trivial and trifling thing.  Then, we will move on to bigger matters, The Christ!

My apologies to C.S. Lewis, may God rest your soul, my baptized brother in Christ.

We have liturgical seasons for a reason, and only Holy Mother Church (not holy mother Earth) has the right and jurisdiction for such decision-making.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love to have mini-Christmas celebrations here and there, reading an article on Christmas out of season, or praying a Christmas prayer “out of season;” but until the Christmas season returns to its proper time commercially, let’s talk about it – out loud, in stores and among those we know.

Our Lord’s Church, of whom He is the Head, has us celebrate our family seasons such as Christmas, Easter, and those of His Saints on certain days, weeks, and months for a reason.  Let’s talk all the more about Christmas, as we see a Santa made by the hands of someone in China (perhaps a persecuted Christian in need of our prayers?).  Let’s talk about All Hallows Eve, aka Halloween, as we wear a mask to parties we were invited to, or out bringing our kids trick or treating.  We serve God, not mammon.  Christ is King.  Happy holydays to you.

Below is a neat article I found to help one really grasp Halloween well:

https://www.catholiccompany.com/magazine/a-catholics-guide-to-halloween/#