The Gift of Advent Calendar: Day 4!

Today is the feast day os St.Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas is an inspiring figure who embodies the charitableness of Christmas.

Day 4: O Bethlehem.....From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; -Micah 5:1

An expert from my Saint of our Time article for My Catholic Family Magazine: 

The perfect saint for the Christmas and  Advent season can be none other than Santa Claus himself, St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was a rich and extremely generous young man. He treated his wealth as a gift that God gave to him, a gift that was meant to be shared. He would give gifts, without revealing his identity to the poor. One story of St. Nicholas' generosity was the time he helped a poor man with three daughters who needed money for their dowry. St. Nicholas hearing of the girls’ predicament decided to climb their house’s roof and drop a bag of gold down the chimney for the eldest daughter. The bag he dropped fell perfectly into the stockings that were hung “by the chimney with care.” The next night, he did the same thing for the second daughter. And on the third night, the father determined to find out who their secret benefactor was decided to hide by the fireplace to find out his identity. When St. Nicholas came again to drop the money for the third daughter, the father’s plan worked, and he was able to find out Nicholas’ identity. Then, whenever a secret gift was found the whole town knew it was from, St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas teaches us to give freely to others, not just material gifts but spiritual gifts as well. A prayer for someone in need is a gift, using our talents for good is a gift, and doing acts of kindness is a gift. St. Nicholas shows us that our gifts are not to be kept selfishly because they are not our own but rather these gifts of ours were given to us by God himself to be shared with the world. Let us follow his example and choose to use our gifts, and may we never forget who the real “Santa Claus” is.

 St. Nicholas, pray for us and 
teach us to be generous in
 using the gifts God gave us,
 Amen.

http://www.mycatholicfamilymagazine.com/

Fourth Day of Advent Prayer 

Lord of all,

you are a God of plenty, a Lord who provides

for us in our need.

As I begin these early days of Advent

help me to believe that you know what I need.

Give me the courage to listen to your voice

and the freedom 

to open my heart to the graces you are 

offering me to place my trust in you.

Amen.

Ta, Ta for Now!