On the feast of the Epiphany, the Three Wise Men visit the Child Jesus bearing gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And what shall we offer the divine Infant? Perhaps... a toy — since children are so fond of them?
Christo Nihil Præponere Team — January 6, 2023
Ypu can read the original source (in Portuguese) here.
On the solemnity of the Epiphany, the Three Magi who come to adore the Christ Child bring Him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh — offerings which, as Pope Benedict XVI once observed, are somewhat unusual for a child. But this child was no ordinary one: He was God made flesh (hence the frankincense), destined to reign from the wood of the Cross (hence the gold), and to die for all mankind (hence the myrrh).
Despite the peculiar nature of these gifts from the East, what remains is their gratuitous character. “The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth,” says Psalm 45 (v. 12). Our baby showers express the same sentiment: we delight in giving gifts to children. And there is no better way to celebrate this Epiphany than by offering our own gift to the Child born in Bethlehem.
And why not toys, if children delight in them?
Our readers might find the suggestion humorous, but it was the Child Jesus Himself who made it to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque on the day she was admitted into religious life, November 6, 1672. She recounts the moment in her Autobiography:
On the day I received the long-desired grace of admission, my divine Master wished to accept me as His spouse — but in a way I cannot express. I can only say that He presented Himself to me and treated me as a bride of Tabor, which was more painful to me than death, for I saw myself so unlike my Spouse, whom I saw before me all disfigured and torn on Calvary. But He said to me: “Let Me do all things in due time. I want you to be a plaything in the hands of My love, which desires to amuse itself with you as children do with their toys, as it pleases them. You must surrender yourself without resistance or hesitation, and allow Me to take My delight at your expense. But you shall lose nothing.” He promised never to leave me, saying: “Always be ready and eager to receive Me, for I desire to make of you My dwelling place, to converse and delight Myself with you.” [i]
Notice, however, that the gift Jesus desired was herself — with the level of surrender that a toy gives. Jesus compares Himself to a child, longing to play with us as one might with dolls, toy cars, or building blocks. And the remarkable thing is that, during the Epiphany (and indeed, throughout the Christmas season), we contemplate God not as a child merely by analogy, but as a real child — wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, cradled in Mary’s arms. The eternal Son of God did not compare Himself to a child — He became one.
Just consider how the story of our own lives unfolds to see how apt this analogy is. At times, certain events — whether joyful or painful, but especially the painful ones: losses, accidents, tragedies, financial hardships — leave us with the impression (especially if we are believers) that we are indeed at the mercy of a child’s whims, someone in heaven who “arranges and rearranges” things down here as He pleases; who plays with one of us for a while, enjoys Himself a bit, then suddenly shakes us roughly, tosses us into a corner, and forgets all about us... (A bit like young Andy in Toy Story, who gradually grows tired of some toys as he gets new ones.)
Yet what may seem like the erratic behavior of a whimsical God is in fact the supremely wise and perfectly ordered plan of His Providence. We are not in the hands of a tyrant, but of a loving Lord who even makes use of our sins — and of what we consider great “misfortunes” — to pour out His grace and fulfill His will in us.
In the Italian literary classic I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni, the main thread running through the story is precisely Divine Providence. Neither Renzo nor Lucia, neither the heroic Father Cristoforo nor the cowardly Don Abbondio, are the true protagonists of the novel: the lead role is played by the Creator Himself, guiding His creatures through paths and “detours” of His own design. For the characters, things often make little sense (indeed, they frequently make no sense at all), but in the end, everything fits together. As the narrator explains:
After much discussion and reflection, [Renzo and Lucia] concluded that many troubles arise because people invite them, but that the most cautious and innocent conduct is not enough to keep them away, and that when they come — with or without fault — trust in God softens them and makes them useful for a better life. This conclusion, though reached by humble folk, seemed so wise to us that we decided to include it here as the meaning of the entire story. [ii]
For instance: had Don Abbondio not cowardly refused to marry Renzo and Lucia, the fearsome Unnamable would not have converted — a cruel and mysterious man who repents of his sins, confesses to Cardinal Federico Borromeo, and changes his life in one of the most beautiful passages in the entire novel. Literary critic Otto Maria Carpeaux writes of the work:
It is one of the most complete worlds ever created by a poet: held in perfect balance by the hand of God. Manzoni, a Catholic of firm faith, believed in Divine Providence; and thus, one never doubts the happy outcome of the tragedy, and this faith transforms the novel into a symbol of heavenly harmony [...]. In The Betrothed, all the infernal sufferings of humanity are present: tyranny, violence, passion, injustice, plague, and even the most terrible enemy of mankind — cowardly foolishness — embodied in Don Abbondio, a creation worthy of Cervantes. But these horrors are softened by the historical perspective, and even the trivialities of the common folk are transfigured by ironic, indulgent humor. In a cosmic way, Divine Providence and human action are intertwined [...]. It is the greatest historical novel ever written. [iii]
As we’ve said, this perfectly ordered and harmonious universe is not merely a literary creation of Manzoni. If we look at our personal experience, this is exactly how things unfold in real life. Isn’t our very existence the result of countless chance events and seeming accidents? How many of us were brought into the world by the sole desire of God — “disrupting” the plans of many? How many of us are the outcome of others’ grave sins — just like Christ, whose genealogy includes King David’s adultery and the prostitute Rahab (cf. Mt 1:5–6)? And on a supernatural level, how many encounters and “missed encounters” were necessary for us to convert and begin living in a state of grace?
In this sense, Jesus’ request to Saint Margaret (and to each of us) is nothing other than a call to collaborate personally in this beautiful divine work within us. A few pages before this revelation, the saint’s spiritual mistress had said to her: “Go place yourself in the presence of Our Lord as a canvas before the painter.” [iv] Another beautiful image for meditation: God as the artist; we, the blank canvas! And shortly after, speaking of obedience to her superiors, Christ told her:
I am pleased that you preferred the will of your superiors to My own, especially when they forbade you to do what I had told you. Let them do with you what they will: I shall find a way to fulfill My plans, even if I use seemingly contradictory and opposing paths. [v]
Let us not be afraid, then, to surrender ourselves to the divine Infant, like “toys” in His hands — truly, this is a fitting “program” not only for this Epiphany, but for the whole of our lives.
References:
i. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Autobiography. Translated by Lucas Ferreira. Dois Irmãos: Minha Biblioteca Católica, 2022, pp. 73–74.
ii. Alessandro Manzoni, The Betrothed. Translated by Francisco Degani. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2012, p. 669.
iii. Otto Maria Carpeaux, History of Western Literature, 3rd ed., Brasília: Senado Federal, 2008, p. 1486.
iv. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, op. cit., p. 66.
v. Ibid., p. 72.
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