Not every Christmas movie can be a classic and not every song a new standard. Such is the case with The Prune Song from The Christmas That Almost Wasn't. Incredibly, this tale of Santa having to take a second job to pay his rent never caught on with the kids. It did with HBO, though, who for some reason showed this thing nonstop back in their early days. Probably because nobody else wanted it.
The word "prune" in the song has no other meaning or purpose behind it other than it's the villain's name, one meant to associate the bad guy with having a big BM. THanks to the pain of watching this movie, however, it reminds me of the verb "prune," which means to reduce especially by eliminating superfluous matter. Over at Catholic Exchange, Fr. Paul Scalia has something to say about that use of the word...
"Our Lord uses the image of pruning to describe our heavenly Father’s work: 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does He prunes so that it bears more fruit' (Jn 15:1)... If pruning brings some degree of suffering to a plant, it must also bring the same to us. But it also brings benefits. Perhaps if we understand the purpose of the Father’s pruning we will endure it more joyfully — and avail ourselves of it more often. Our Father has, in short, the same purpose as any gardener: He prunes in order to produce spiritual health, fruitfulness and beauty... Pruning does away with the old, diseased and dead branches from a plant. God works the same in our souls. He seeks to remove the dead wood of sin and the diseased branches of vice so that our souls can enjoy greater health."
You know, given the extraordinary pain in the you know what 2017 was, the good Father's words might just be something to keep in mind as 2018 gets under way. Every time you feel the new year give you a little jab, just consider there might be some pruning going on.
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