Holiday Commercialization
Christmas Shopping and Catholic Teaching
by CAPP-USA
‘Tis the Season — for commercialization — for ads, deals, and a frenzy of buying! All this might lead us to think the season exists only for shopping. Holiday commercialization is not in short supply. Indeed, many of us are guilty of an over exuberant shopping spree or two.
So, what’s the problem? It’s “consumerism“.
What is Consumerism?
Consumerism is “a style of life directed at ‘having’ rather than ‘being‘”… A person who is concerned solely or primarily with possessing and enjoying – who can no longer subordinate his instincts – cannot be free.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 36)
This materialism has made us fat – and is nursed by a deep culture of consumerism. And consumerism is a problem.
Commercialization comes from consumerism, which threatens to overrun our holidays, our habits, our priorities, and our very souls.
It leads to an obsession with having material things which, in turn, “weakens the development and stability of personal relationships”, (Pope Francis, 67) and “stands in opposition to [our] true grandeur.” (Pope St. Paul VI, 19)
It leads us to “shut out others”, (Pope St. Paul VI, 19) and to “attitudes and life styles…. which are objectively improper”, (Pope St. John Paul II, 36) as well as to a “soul stifling materialism”. (Pope St. Paul VI, 19)
Consumerism “makes you believe that life depends solely on what you have…The Lord comes, but you prefer to follow the longing you feel; your brother knocks at your door, but he is a nuisance to you because he upsets your plans — and this is the attitude of consumerism.” (Pope Francis)
The Commercialization of Christmas
There is a tendency to associate Christmas with shopping rather than Christ. Even before Thanksgiving (the holiday and the virtue) we are overrun with Black Friday and Cyber Monday advertisements and calls to spend. Such commercialization keeps consumerism alive in new generations and perpetuates a “throwaway culture” where, tragically, “Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded.” (Pope Francis, 53)
We need to ask ourselves, “Do I really need all these material objects and complicated recipes for living?” “Can I manage [to] live a life of greater simplicity?” (Pope Francis)
“Happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only diminish us”. (Pope Francis, 223) When we become obsessed with possessing and enjoying – we cannot be free.
Is Consumerism Really that Bad?
Yes! “Consumerism is a virus that tarnishes faith at its root”. (Pope Francis)
“The true danger…is what anaesthetizes the heart: it is dependence on consumption”. (Pope Francis)
And the ills caused by consumerism do not stop at the personal, societal, and spiritual. Pope Francis identifies consumerism’s “dynamic of dominion” (Pope Francis, 222) as a key cause of the degradation of our environment.
How Much Shopping is too Much?
What does a Catholic approach to holiday spending look like? We are called to “moderation and the capacity to be happy with little” (Pope Francis, 222) and we are called “not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.” (Pope Francis, 222)
Is it wrong to holiday shop? No. Is it bad to buy gifts? Of course not.
“What is wrong is a style of life…which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an end in itself.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 36) Shopaholics, take note.
Catholics don’t have to skip Christmas lists or never eye a good deal. But we must recognize the dangers of consumerism, the “inclinations towards immediate gratification”, (Pope St. John Paul II, 36), and “the mere accumulation of pleasures”. (Pope Francis, 222)
What Can We Do?
Lead by example. A person must “subordinate his material and instinctive dimensions to his interior and spiritual ones.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 36)
The goal of Catholic social teaching is for lifestyles in which “the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others…determine [our] consumer choices, savings and investments.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 29)
Society is called to “a serious review of its lifestyle, which in many parts of the world is prone to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences”. (Pope Benedict XVI, 51)
What’s the Solution?
“No authentic progress is possible without respect for the natural and fundamental right to know the truth and live according to that truth.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 29)
The solution to consumerism is Jesus. “Once Jesus dwells in our heart, the center of life is no longer my ravenous and selfish ego, but the One who is born and lives for love.” (Pope Francis)
