St. Nicholas and Social Justice | The real scoop on Santa

One area where those from the various Catholic traditions have a leg up on us Protestant types is the veneration of the saints.

This is not the place nor the time to discuss whether Catholics worship dead people (they don’t, just so you know), but by learning the details of the lives of those who have went before us, we learn the legacy they have entrusted to us and we gain inspiration from their sacrifice.

Take for example, St. Nicholas. This time of year, he is being mentioned everywhere and yet virtually none of us know anything about him. For example, did you know…

• Nicholas was a Bishop of the Church
• Was a participant in the Nicean Council (from whence came the Nicean Creed).
• A poor farmer has three daughters. He could afford no dowry for his daughters, so they could not be married. He was about to sell them into slavery when Nicholas left (in secret) three bags of gold. He threw them in the window at night, where they fell into shoes that had been left to dry by the fireplace overnight.
• He often gave much needed gifts in secret, often leaving them on the hearth.
• After his death, his acts of kindness led others to give gifts of charity to each other.
• He prevented several executions.
• Several stories show that Nicholas had a special place in his heart for children. In one story, he resurrected three children who were murdered; in traditional Catholic circles, he is known as a protector of children and sailors.
• He came from a rich family and used his resources to right wrongs and to feed those in need.
• Traditional pictures of Nicholas show him in a bishop’s red robe, and in keeping with the customs of his people, he had a full beard. Because he is one of the very few bishops of that time to live to an old age, the beard is often shown in pictures as white.

Protector of children, defender of those wrongly condemned, willing to intervene on the behalf of those who have no voice, willing to use his own resources for those who are needy, doing it in secret so the dignity of the recipient is preserved: Nicholas was a fighter for social justice.

This Christmas, tell your children the real story of Santa. Tell them how he feed those who were hungry, how he defended the helpless and how he gave of himself to help others. Of course, they may have a hard time understanding why he is sitting in front of The Gap in the shopping mall, but perhaps that will open up another line of discussion too.

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