In this popular Christmas song, the second verse lines are as follows:
1 Do you see what I see?
2 Do you hear what I hear?
3 Do you know what I know?
4 Listen to what I say.
Do you see what I see—in the world around us? Everyone is searching for something. Many pursue “spirituality” in all its forms—crystals, necromancy, astrology, palm reading, tarot cards and the like. People search for “healers” and those having clairvoyance concerning the future. We search for these things because we search for God. We were created with a “hole”, if you will, that can only be filled by Him. St. Augustine says it best: “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”
Do you hear what I hear…that only God can fulfill your soul? One of the first dogmas of the Catholic faith is that “God, our Creator and Lord, can be known with certainty, by the natural light of reason from created things.”[1] A detailed explanation is found in Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma; suffice it to say, however, that the idea of God is innately within us all. In short, God is what we are searching for, and only He can give us true meaning for our existence.
Freedom to Choose
Do you know what I know…that God has given us free will to choose to love Him? It is because of free will that we need to search to freely choose Him. Delving into other realms of “spirituality” never fulfills the deepest longings of our souls. In fact, we are often left isolated, lonely, scared and lacking true peace. Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NRSVCE). Also, as the giver of true peace, he says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). If you possess the true peace he gives, your spirit will not be troubled.
Have No Other Gods
Listen to what I say…Pray for peace people everywhere…Lack of peace and being agitated are not from God. Other forms of “spirituality” or divination leave no room for God and “are to be rejected,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, 2116). All these, says the Catechism, “conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, over human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers” (CCC, 2116). God is about protecting us. He protects us by the wisdom of His Church which He gave to us through His Son (Mt 16:18). Involving ourselves in any forms of the occult are sins against the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). (See also CCC, 2110-2117).
“Do You Hear What I Hear?” resounds beautifully in its end verse: “He will bring us goodness and light.” Only God can give us what it is that we search for. By the gift of his Son, born for us that first Christmas day—goodness, light, life, truth and peace were brought into the world.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
In the final analysis, He (and only he) will bring us…GOODNESS and LIGHT!! 📢 📢 📢
[1] Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Charlotte: TAN Books, 1974), 13.
