What Does it Mean to be Catholic During the Holidays?

During this time of year, with all the holidays keeping me busy, I decided to stop and think about what being Catholic actually means. If I am really honest with myself, I have to keep reminding myself when I am caught up in the secular aspect of the holidays, that being Catholic doesn’t mean just going to church every Sunday and saying my nightly prayers. That is a great start, but I have to remind myself that I am called to do much more by Jesus Christ. The wonderful part though is that Jesus gave us a perfect example to learn from, and many Saints have given us many relatable examples.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works (James 2:14-18).

So what does it mean to be Catholic? Let’s take a look.

It means being there for your community, no matter what. We are called to be slaves to God and thus a slave to your community. This will require you to advance in humility. Many of us often times will think, “I’m too busy to help with that”, but really we want to cozy up on our couch and watch our favorite TV show. Jesus calls us to love and assist the poor.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome (Matthew 25:35).

During this holiday season, whether for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or maybe even both, take some time away from yourself and your busy life. Give some of that time to people who need help. A possible idea is helping at the local Food Pantry by donating food and helping distribute meals during Thanksgiving. During Christmas, if your Church has an Angel Tree or some other type of gift-giving ministry, pick up an angel or two. No child should ever have a bad Christmas, some toys and giving them their needs will make more of an impact on that child than you can imagine. Remember how much Jesus loved Children through Matthew 19:14.

but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them from coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs’.

The beautiful thing about helping in ways like these is it will refocus the true meaning of the holiday and life. Christmas is about Jesus. Not You. This Thanksgiving and Christmas season, strive to achieve the impossible. The likeness of Jesus Christ.

What else is being Catholic about? It’s about not being tied to a political party completely, because no political party is the Catholic Party. Our identity should be Catholic, not political affiliation. We should, however, pray for many things, including our World Leaders to pursue more Holy agendas.

I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be offered for everyone, for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives with all devotion and propriety (1 Timothy 2:1-2 ).

This includes a wide array of topics like standing up for everyone’s rights including the Unborn. God tells us that he knows us before we were formed in the womb in Jeremiah 1:5.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I appointed you as prophet to the nations.

It’s about calling everyone your brother or sister, regardless of skin color, belief, political affiliation, age, gender, or any other divisive terms we like to use today. It’s about utilizing our monetary gains to better more than just ourselves. It’s about bettering our world. God’s world is a gift and we must use it, but not break it. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said it best on August 26, 2009, to a general audience.

The deterioration of nature is…closely connected to the culture that shapes human coexistence: when ‘human ecology’ is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits.” “The Earth is indeed a precious gift of the Creator who, in designing its intrinsic order, has given us bearings that guide us as stewards of his creation. Precisely from within this framework, the Church considers matters concerning the environment and its protection intimately linked to the theme of integral human development.

We all have a part to play in our call to be Disciples of Christ. It is a tough road, but one, we as Catholics are called to make. We all have things we need to work on, things we each need to improve. But that’s really what this life is about. Improving ourselves and utilizing the Saints that God gave us as role models to become like and closer to Jesus Christ.

There are so many other callings we can do to continue to improve as Catholics. However, in 2020, these seem to be very important ones that are often forgotten. In the age where Relativism seems to be gaining even more strength, it is important to focus on Jesus and what he teaches us in the Gospels. It is important to focus on the Acts of the Apostles because we need to be like the early disciples again. Our current world resembles once again that of the pagan world. One that focuses its attention on other gods. The gods of money, power, and fame have become the focus in much of our society. It’s time that we Evangelize and bring our world back to God as the early Christians did. St. Paul talked about Evangelizing beautifully and went deeper into issues we have as Catholics today in 1 Corinthians 1:17-21.

After all, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel; and not by means of wisdom of language, wise words which would make the cross of Christ pointless. The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God. As scripture says: I am going to destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of any who understand. Where are the philosophers? Where are the experts? And where are the debaters of this age? Do you not see how God has shown up human wisdom as folly? Since in the wisdom of God the world was unable to recognize God through wisdom, it was God’s own pleasure to save believers through the folly of the gospel.

So, this holiday season, try to focus your attention on Evangelizing, taking care of the poor, and putting yourself aside to grow closer to Jesus Christ. Because when it comes down to it, that’s what it means to be Catholic.