The Miracle in Giving

     We are already in the 2nd day of the New Year 2013 and I thought gift-giving for the Christmas season has already ended. But just about sunset, I received gifts from a certain photography client. This affirms that gifts are not given only during Christmas Day. Well, in fact, gifts are supposed to be given during celebration of the Three Kings' Day (or Feast of the Epiphany). We have known by tradition that the three wise men went to visit the Infant Jesus and offered their gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense. This then is how the Christmas gifts came to be.

                                         
     St. Francis of Assissi in his prayer "it is in giving that we receive..." defines the true meaning of gifts. If we want to receive, we must know how to give. This holds true in our giving to the Lord. The more that we give to the Lord, the more that we receive. God can never be outdone in generosity. But giving should not just be for the sake of giving but with love as the basis of the action. One should give without expecting anything or any favor in return. And surely God sees to it that every charitable or generous action gains merit in His love.

     If love is the motivating factor of everyone giving then it becomes a sharing of the blessing one has received from the Lord. No one becomes in need if what the early Christian life of community sharing is practiced today (Acts 2:43-45). We will never see people around suffering in poverty if everyone is giving or sharing. This is the kind of miracle that we want to happen to our present generation.