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PDF versionSanta in the sanctuary
by Heidi Schlumpf on Dec. 28, 2011
I have mixed feelings about Santa.
Sure, he represents the spirit of giving, is based on a saint and can be very useful for coercing good behavior out of children for about three weeks out of the year.
On the other hand, he has come to symbolize the overemphasis on presents, the blurring of the line between "wants" and "needs" and general excessive materialism during what should be a spiritual season. Nothing says "Gimme" like a kid making a list for Santa.
While most parents love to encourage the magic of Santa, making the annual photo on a store Santa's lap an important tradition, others shy away from embellishing the story too much. For it is a story, after all, and one children eventually learn is based on much "fibbing" by their parents.
But if you really want to get controversial, try bring up the topic of Santa in church.
As part of Christmas Eve family Masses, some parishes have added a visit from Old St. Nick, perhaps in part to pique the interest of kids who can't help but be thinking of what will be under their tree the next day.
Sometimes he's out in the lobby handing out candy canes at the end of Mass. Or perhaps he makes a quick pass through the aisles waving with a "Ho! Ho! Ho!" More sensitive liturgists might have Santa stop by the manger, recreating the famous but historically inaccurate "kneeling Santa."
If the recent discussion on our parish listserv is any indication, Catholics have strong feelings pro--and mostly con--about this recent addition to Christmas liturgies.
Most think a visit from Santa inserts a reminder about receiving "stuff" during one of the few seasonal focuses on God's greatest gift to us. Saint or not, he doesn't belong in the sanctuary, they argue.
Others think it makes a nice connection between the gift of Jesus and why we exchange gift on someone else's birthday anyway.
Me? Like anything that has to do with Santa, I'm ambivalent. I probably prefer a Santa-free liturgy, but I'm more bothered by flags in the sanctuary than Santa.
What do you think?
How about St Nicholas? He
How about St Nicholas? He represents generosity.
How about some refresher on Catholic culture?
Personally, I had never heard
Personally, I had never heard of Santa in church. Keep him out. Bring in Scrooge. He learned the gift of love and its essential expression of giving. He learned the hard way. It is that human love, that was itself a gift from the creator is the essence of life. It is that human love that Jesus brought into a new and unimaginable evolutionary leap in dimension in relationship with Himself, and the rest of the Trinity. It is that love that Jesus challenged to do more and go further.
It is amazing to me that the "selfish" side of creation, the "dark side" has commandeered not just "love" but the love embodied in a canonized saint. Church authorities blame "commercialism", "relativism", "secularism", etc., for the state of the world. WHERE WERE THEY? Where are they? With its command and control redefinition of faith, hope and charity as obedience and obiesence they have failed miserably in their mission. They seem not only to have abandoned the field but have turned the water (of life) into whine.
A wise old pastor once told
A wise old pastor once told me this. He would accept people coming to his church for any reason. It was his job to keep them there for the right reasons.
'Nuff said, says I.
Yes, flags-no. Our parish did
Yes, flags-no. Our parish did something a little different this year. A week before Christmas we had a St. Nicholas festival where an older man dressed as St. Nicholas appeared and told his story to all children who wanted to hear it. This was shown in our parish hall and not the church itself. It was impossible not to see the correlation between Santa and the St. Nicholas presented here. It was also delightful to watch the children present their answers to St. Nicholas' questions.
I believe Santa can be part of our liturgies, but it must be shown so with great care.
Do you guys need any more
Do you guys need any more evidence that Liberal Catholicism is a really, really weird religion? Can anyone imagine somebody dressed as Santa Claus at a Mass said by a serious Catholic priest?
Well said!
Well said!
how do we associate Santa
how do we associate Santa Claus with "Liberal Catholicism" or the Mass with being serious?
Mr. Claus appears more the free market consumerist saint. HE doesn't give all that stuff away for free but stands blessing the expensive baubles in all our stores.
Because no orthodox Catholic
Because no orthodox Catholic pastor would have a guy dressed up as Santa Claus at Mass. Not in a million years.
I didn't realize that there
I didn't realize that there were any serious catholic priests. I think that's an impossibility. They are all superficial at best these days.
but with a solemn mien ever
but with a solemn mien ever plastered upon their superficial faces
come to the Cathedral of Ciudad Juarez and see PRIESTS WHO SMILE, broadly . . .
I am for anything that makes
I am for anything that makes my parish priest's homilies less boring!
It would be like having
It would be like having St.Lucy running through mass on her feast day, or having St. Nick parading through mass on his feast day. The liturgy is focused on Christ. Lets leave it there.
Flags in the sanctuary! This
Flags in the sanctuary! This has always irritated me. It seems to me that as Baptized people we are members of the kingdom of God. Why would we fly under any other banner. It has been my conviction that as Catholics we could well have the flag of our Diocese and probably the flag of the Bishop of Rome in our sanctuary. The problem being that I don't think our diocese has a flag. I seem to remember that when outside forces installed items in the sanctuary in Jerusalem dire results came about.
RIGHT?!?! During our most
RIGHT?!?!
During our most vicious imperialist wars, whether against Vietnam or Central America or everywhere since, that bloodied US military symbol keeps waving in US sanctuaries, rendering the name of holy sanctuary meaningless, and terrifying to refugees fleeing our war zones.
wait till Catholic (??!!)
wait till Catholic (??!!) POTUS Sanitorum and VP Newt go on worldwide Crusade in Jesus name, AMEN.
The US flag will replace the Crucifix and Sainte Therese and Our Lady in Sanctuaries throughout anglo America, in whatever little room is left after the Wojtyla statues take over . . .
Santa in the liturgy? It's
Santa in the liturgy? It's Christmas, not Clausmas. What's next, having the Grinch and Ebeneezer Scrooge as ushers?
What I do think is great is what the Daughters of St. Paul have done for years -- they host a 'baby Jesus birthday party' early in December and they have Saint Nicholas pay a visit with gifts. I have no problem with showing the link between Santa and his real life inspiration.
Santa has become a secular icon and there's some good in that (and bad). I forsee a day when non-Christian kids will get presents from Santa because he's an irreligious magical being. Santa will continue to evolve as our global culture does -- all the more reason to avoid blurring our liturgies with him.
Young kids fidgeting during
Young kids fidgeting during the annual Christmas Eve “Children’s Liturgy?” Any adult can give the definitive answer to solve this dilemma—SHORTEN THE HOMILY!!! After hearing beautiful Scripture Readings and prayers, and after singing great hymn texts, WE DON’T NEED MORE WORDS. Homilists, please shorten your homily to, say, two minutes max. Be precise, specific, brief. Then perhaps an appearance by Santa is not necessary to bring ‘comic relief’ to the liturgy.
I’ve heard 15 minute homilies at the Christmas Eve Mass billed as “Family” or “For young children.” And always, there is fidgeting by our younger members, and frustrated parents trying to keep the kids silent. I even heard a 15 minute homily (?) about a Christmas gopher which had absolutely no connection to the Christmas narrative.
Flags in the sanctuary: I'm
Flags in the sanctuary: I'm certainly not one of those people who waives a flag and yells "my country- right or wrong", or who makes an idol to worship out of a piece of cloth, as many do. So I can understand the concern some might have over a national flag in the sanctuary.
However, it is important to remember that all humans on this planet find themselves being part of a "nation" and/or "tribe".
All nations must bow before God and embrace Christ. We come before God as human beings... but we also come before Him as Americans (or Irish, or Spaniards, or Nigerians, etc etc.)
We should have a healthy patriotism, and a logical love for our own country, just as we do for our own family members. Just as we should acknowledge the sins and failings of our families, so too we should of our own countries. Just as we shouldn't think our family is "Better" than someone else's, so too we should not have a "look down upon" attitude regarding other nations.
A national flag in the sanctuary is a good thing, as long as interpreted properly. We should present and consecrate our own country, the United States of America, to the Lord, and pray for its conversion to the one true Catholic Faith.
By the way, the constant use of the term "Bishop of Rome" irks me. How about Supreme Pontiff, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Peter, Pope, and yes, Patriarch of the West !
Now on to St Nicholas....
The real Saint Nicholas of Myra, a man with a heart burning with charity and love, was also a man whose mind and heart was committed to the truth.
At the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas struck the heretic Arius with a blow to the face. Nicholas would not tolerate hearing that Jesus Christ was not God.
Imagine what Nicholas would say and do today, in an age when theologians try to separate the "Jesus of History" from the "Jesus of Faith"... in a time when the authenticity of Christ's miracles (as recorded in the Gospel) and even of His bodily Resurrection are called into doubt ... in a day when even some "Catholic" scholars are open to the idea that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children with her... in a time when "Catholic priests" hold ecumenical services with priests of Voodoo... in a day when the Catholic liturgy is sometimes even blended with Pagan ceremonies like those of Hinduism....in an age when supposed Catholic Masses are so insane as to feature a costumed man in a red and white suit saying "ho ho ho" (even though supposedly in honor of Nicholas himself).... ???!!!!
Saint Nicholas would have none of the above. He was orthodox, apostolic, and Catholic.
"A national flag in the
"A national flag in the sanctuary is a good thing"
Paraphrasing Martha Stewart?
It is not when that nation, as ours, commits war crimes against other nations, as we have these past decades, and our national policies condemned by our bishops as in The Challenge of Peace. We cannot serve the Prince of Peace and wave this bloody banner of imperialist war within our sanctuary. It is the abomination of the desolation within our Holy Place, which must be a sacred place of peace, not glorifying war.
I too, Charles, strongly
I too, Charles, strongly disagree with some recent policies of our government.
However, I disagree with your conclusion.
Abomination of desolation? Come on now, let's get real.
Even the U.S. flag itself has some roots in Masonic (read: anti-Catholic) symbolism, but the Church does not glorify those things when displaying the flag. The flag, in this use, stands for the land in which we live.
No matter what the government does or doesn't do, I love my country.
Displaying a flag in a Catholic sanctuary of the country where that church/sanctuary is located -- whether the Mexican flag, UK flag, South African flag, Lebanese flag, or flag of the Philippines -- does not imply agreement with all of the policies of the governments of those nations.
"By the way, the constant use
"By the way, the constant use of the term "Bishop of Rome" irks me."
Well, that's what he is. All the rest is historical accretion to fluff him up to be A Really Big Important Man.
"Others think it makes a nice
"Others think it makes a nice connection between the gift of Jesus and why we exchange gifts on someone else's birthday anyway."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZUFE6kt2kA
Happy Birthday, Jesus, from your children in DUBAI, who know you will enjoy their sparkling Santa Claus caps and Muslim descant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD936NGU4lY
"At the Council of Nicaea,
"At the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas struck the heretic Arius with a blow to the face. Nicholas would not tolerate hearing that Jesus Christ was not God."
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A proof of saintwood? I can not imagine Jesus "arguing" in the some way...
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