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It’s the time of the year where we
think a lot about giving and receiving
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presence.
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I remember when I was a child putting
my shoes out in early December for St.
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Nicholas to leave a small
gift in them. Just a week ago,
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we had the shopping holidays,
black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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The world with some excitement right
now is gearing up with lists in hand.
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Everyone’s scrambling to order last
minute Christmas presents and postal
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workers, UPS and Amazon delivery.
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People are getting ready for their
roles as Santa’s big helpers.
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Gifts make us happy.
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I remember the Christmas Eve I got on my
buddy doll and the Christmas morning I
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woke up to my power will’s two
seat battery operated Jeep.
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Those toys brought happiness and
joy to me when I was a child.
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But great as those gifts were, the
joy they brought was only temporary.
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Even though I think I still have
my buddy in a closet somewhere,
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I’m not much of a holiday gift giver.
Maybe I’m just not organized enough.
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I’ve had great examples of holiday
shoppers, my mom, my aunts,
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even my wife, on a budget.
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They always seem to be organized and
able to find gifts that fit each of us
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perfectly.
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But maybe that’s because they know that
while gifts bring happiness in life,
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at times the happiness comes as
much to the gift giver as the gift
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receiver.
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I’m not sure if you’ve heard the old
saying money can’t buy happiness,
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but I would challenge that
statement a little bit.
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I believe money can buy
happiness if it’s used correctly.
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It may not make us happy if
we spend it on ourselves,
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but when we spend it on others,
it can bring great happiness,
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happiness that is even longer lived
than the happiness from receiving
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a great gift like my power wills. I mean,
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it goes without saying that the weight
limit on that car I’ve exceeded and it
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can’t get me to and
from work. As Catholics,
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we like to look for examples on
how to live our lives, don’t we?
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We’re blessed with many saints who
show us the way with gift giving.
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We can look at St. Nicholas,
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but we can also look for examples
that our father gives us in the
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gospel according to John.
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For God so love the world that
he gave his only begotten son,
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that whoever believes
in him shall not perish,
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but have eternal life.
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God gave of himself the
greatest gift we could ask for.
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We must give of ourselves too.
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Most of us have heard the phrase
giving of our time, our talent,
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our treasures. How do we
share those gifts with others?
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How do we share them with those who
are less fortunate than ourselves?
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For some years,
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I participated in a coat buying project
where I would get a tag and buy a coat
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for a kid in need.
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The project was important and
beneficial to the people in need,
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but was relatively easy
for my wife and me.
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I think back to that charitable act and
reflect upon the example God gave us by
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giving us, his son did,
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giving a coat from Macy’s compared to
that act of love that was shown to us by
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our Heavenly Father. Of course not.
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Maybe it would be a greater act of
love if it had been my only coat,
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but it wasn’t, and I’m not saying we
shouldn’t participate in toy drives,
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coat drives, and angel
trees. We absolutely should.
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But we must also look for the greater
ways to give of the gift of ourselves to
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others during this pandemic,
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when many of us are uncertain of things
we thought we were sure of before,
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being able to spend time with our
friends, to travel with our families.
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We know that many of our family
members, friends, neighbors,
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and even strangers in our
communities are suffering.
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Some are suffering from a lack of
money. Some are worried and scared,
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some are very lonely. None of us
know how to fix all of these issues,
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but I know that we can’t do it alone.
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This advent is we prepare for Christ
to come into our hearts and homes as
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we remember God sending his son to
us as the greatest gift of all time.
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We must focus on giving the greatest gift.
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We have a very personal gift
of self to those who are
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struggling this Christmas season.
