Marcellino D'Ambrosio | Special to The Michigan Catholic

Christmas cards speak about it. Christmas carols sing about it. Even the angels at Bethlehem proclaimed it: “Peace on earth.”

The coming of the Messiah obviously has something to do with the advent of peace.

But we need to examine the biblical notion of peace. It is not quite the peace that some have in mind. It is not niceness or political correctness. It is not solely the absence of war.

It is rather the right relationship between people that flows from the right relationship with God. Pope Paul VI said that “if you want peace, work for justice.” Justice, however, is not just fair laws and political rights, but the interior justice that the Bible calls righteousness.

The world is obviously not at peace, because human hearts are not at peace. We are all pulled in opposite directions by competing desires.

So, before the Prince of Peace can usher in a season of tranquility and refreshment, the forerunner must come with his stern message of warfare. The enemies of peace will not lie down of their own accord. They must be put down. Peace is a fruit of victory.

The warfare, of course, is not against flesh and blood, but against sin and idolatry, the terrorists that make peace impossible.

Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar, a Swiss theologian, said we must take sides with the truth against ourselves. The Holy Spirit that the Messiah offers to us will empower us to live in perfect harmony (Rom 15:6). He comes not only as light but as a cleansing fire.

In the light of the Spirit, we must honestly and fearlessly look at our lives and give him permission to burn away the impurities. This might hurt a bit, but His is a refiner’s fire, and His aim is to make us pure gold.

This is why the joyous season of Christmas is preceded by a sober season of violet, the color of repentance. The Greek word in the New Testament translated as “repentance” is metanoia. This literally means a “change of mind” or a transformation of thinking. Repentance starts with allowing our values to be more influenced by God’s truth than the babble of television.

But a change of mind must lead to a change of life. John the Baptist is adamant: Repentance is incomplete without action. To the pious Pharisees and Sadducees who present themselves for baptism, he declares, “Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance.”

Every tree that does not bear fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Sterile fruit trees are worthless. A change of mind without a change of life is no change at all.

So what has our society done with Advent? It has turned it into the shopping days before Christmas. As if we weren’t already distracted from the things of God, now it’s time to totally drown out the still, small, voice with the “fa-la-la-la-la” of Christmas carols.

Between the frenzy at the mall and the party at the office, it is easy to get anesthetized, numbed to the true reason for the season.

The Christian attitude toward holidays is simple: first the fast, then the feast. The world’s approach is quite different: first the feast, then the hangover.

The Puritans recognized that holiday merriment distracted people from the true meaning of Christ’s birth. Their solution was to completely ban the holiday and its associated festivities. The Catholic approach is not to ban it but to use it.

Wouldn’t it be great if this year’s Christmas list was filled with gifts that had something to do with the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate? And what if we disciplined ourselves to precede every visit to the shopping mall with a visit to the Blessed Sacrament?

And maybe as we deck the halls, we should devote at least equal attention to clothing ourselves with the virtues that will please God even more than the holly and the ivy.

Let’s do it right. Preparing the way for the Prince of Peace means getting everyone in the family to go to confession this Advent. Daily prayer is a must. Fasting from the din of radio, TV and Internet and more time in God’s word can go a long way toward driving out the darkness and burning off the dross in our lives.

And try this little custom to promote true peace on earth and goodwill: In our house, the crèche scene is set up early in Advent but the manger remains empty. We get some bagged straw from the craft shop. As often as anyone does a hidden work of penance or charity, he or she may place a piece of straw in the manger to prepare a comfortable place of rest for the infant King. The goal? To fill the manger by Christmas Eve.

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Marcellino D’Ambrosio writes from Texas. This column is distributed by Catholic News Service.