What comes to mind when we think of Santa Claus? Probably something along the lines of a jolly figure, somewhat mysterious, who dresses in a vibrant red suit and stocking hat, and who miraculously, in one night, sneaks down our chimneys to drop off presents for all the good children around the globe. The story is fun for children of any age really. And as Tony explains, if we stuck to this story, there is much here that could get us back not only to the real figure behind Santa Claus, but to the One Who Santa Claus spent his life serving. We need only to remember Santa rightly, and if we remember him rightly, we can see him rightly.
Sources
Adam C. English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 6 (Baylor University Press, 2012).
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 25
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, 3
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 5
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 33
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 6
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 8
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 49
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica I-II, Q. 63.2.3, cf. Q. 63.1
Aquinas, ST II-II, Q. 81.5
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 9
St. Thomas Aquinas, Sermon on the Feast of St. Nicholas, 2
Psalm 143:10
Psalm 143:8
Proverbs 11:17
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 9
St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 164.9
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 10
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 12
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 14
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 16
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 17
Galatians 2:20
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 21
Michael the Archimandrite, The Life, 24
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 92
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 95
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 93
English, The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus, 167
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 46 (Harper Collins, 2001)
St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 311.1
Aquinas, Sermon on the Feast of St. Nicholas, 2
Aquinas ST II-II, Q. 30.3
Aquinas ST II-II, Q. 30.4
Tony Crescio is the founder of FRESHImage Ministries. He holds an MTS from the University of Notre Dame and is currently a PhD candidate in Christian Theology at Saint Louis University. His research focuses on the intersection between moral and sacramental theology. His dissertation is entitled, Presencing the Divine: Augustine, the Eucharist and the Ethics of Exemplarity.
Tony’s academic publications can be found here.