Santa Claus verus St. Nicholas

The Feast of St. Nicholas

Today is the feast of St. Nicholas and Father did a lovely job of sharing the life of St. Nicholas--a bishop who was extremely generous with his personal wealth.
St. Nicholas could not stand the idea that a man was going to sell his daughters into prostitution because he lacked a dowry for them, so in the middle of the night he delivered bags of gold to the father of the daughters (three in all) which served as their dowry. This is where the idea of Santa coming at night comes from, but it is not all there was to St. Nicholas.
But his point was more that today's version of St. Nicholas--Santa Clause--is about material things and not about generosity or sharing a love of Jesus Christ, as is the case of St. Nicholas.
Also, there is the truth that St. Nicholas was a real person who lived and breathed while Santa Clause is a fiction, comprised of many traditions.
As we prepare for Christmas, I hope I can remember that the most important thing I can share with people is my love of Christ and not some present I purchase for them, especially the young children who are so materialistic in their wants.

Lord,
Help me this day to focus on my Advent goals and to do your will throughout the day. Help me to be generous with what you have given me and also to share my love of you with all. Thank you for your many blessings.

My sweet child,
I love you mightily and guide you each day. I know you do not complete the work I have given you each day, but as you strengthen your willpower to do my will, you will accomplish more each day. Keep working on the lists you have comprised for Advent, doing daily a task that we agreed to when you made the list.
Do not fret about the person who seems so resentful of you. Pray for this person even more and keep on praying for all of the people in his life. Be generous in your spiritual prayers for this person and rejoice because I have given you the power to love in spite of hatred consuming the world. All is well. Let's do some Advent preparation now and have fun with it. You are precious to me. Never doubt it.