You’ve heard it said, “It’s the thought that counts” when it comes to giving gifts, right?! Well with Christmas just a week away, and
shipping deadlines passing fast, there are only a few more opportunities to
find the perfect gift for your loved ones.
Have you ever received a gift from
your beloved that made you want to say, “Seriously, what were you thinking?” With this in mind, it occurred to me,
this might be a good time to share the 10 worst gifts a man can get his beloved:
#10 Nothing. It doesn’t matter if she told
you she wanted nothing, this is code talk for, “Seriously, we’ve been together long enough, you should be able
to figure out what I’d like for Christmas.”
#9 Cash Card. If you’re like me you’ve asked
your beloved for a list of desired gifts about October, but you notice on the credit
receipts the same items that are on her list. So, it only makes sense (to a man) to give a cash card so she can buy what
she wants.
#8 Home Depot Gift Card. While there are
some women who would love a HD Gift Card, however, the norm would suggest it
would draw a question like; “Who are you getting the gift for
anyway?”
#7 Framed
Picture of Yourself. May smack as a
bit too narcissistic for her.
The next 5 items may beg the
question, “What are you trying to say?” gifting…
#6 cooking supplies,
#5 a gym membership,
#4 a subscription to a Women’s Health magazine,
#3 a Weight Watchers scale, or
#2 beauty products (i.e. wrinkle remover)
And
the #1 worst gift a man can get his beloved for Christmas is a vacuum cleaner. It
doesn’t matter if it was on her list! Go deeper.
Now, there’s no doubt this may have
just made someone’s last minute Christmas shopping just a bit more
stressful. As we enter the “peace” of the fourth week of Advent, it seems
only natural that we might be focused on the Christmas “presents” to
be given and received. Yet the Church,
in her infinite wisdom, gives us a gospel to ponder and pray over that tends to
grab our attention away from the Christmas “presents” to remind us of the Christmas “presence”
as much more important.
Mary’s presence was a grace to Elizabeth. Mary had
the awareness of her cousin’s needs, needs that can only be fulfilled by her
presence. A presence first acknowledged by a joyous leap of John the Baptist in
Elizabeth’s womb and then by a greeting acknowledging Mary’s faith and the presence
of God in Mary’s womb.
In just a week we will celebrate the
fruit of Mary’s womb, the birth of the child: Jesus, the Son of Mary, the Son
of God, born fully human and fully divine. This is the world’s Christmas
present, the perfect presence of the Christ Child, the long awaited one the prophets
for told of.
For those that may be rethinking their
gift plans, it’s easy to go online or drop by the mall to purchase a gift—but
the gift of your presence, the
gift of ourselves, the making of time to be with others knowing their needs, is
a presence many people long
for, but may not receive. As I write this, I thought of those in nursing homes,
hospitals, or jails with restricted access, those who have lost a loved one and
are spending their first Christmas alone without their physical presence, and
the homeless who are experiencing Christmas as just another day of being
rousted to move on and disappear. There is no greater present that
we can give to another than our presence.
How do we find the courage and the strength to do this?
The answer lies in the reason we are
gathered around the table of the Word of God and the mystery of this Eucharistic
table, with all our hopes, our faith, joys and sorrows to be nourished by the
greatest gift of presence ever given. God gave us—his physical
presence, in
the person of Jesus.[1]
and we are called to share this gift of presence in our daily lives.
This gift of presence is powerful. It’s a power that draws people, who may not participate regularly in Mass, but are making their bi-annual pilgrimage, to join family and friends, in this community’s joyful reception of God’s great gift of presence, His Word incarnate. These pilgrims will pack local churches and while it may create a parking nightmare, and the possibility we may not get to sit in our regular pew. (Please do not ask them to get out of your seat!) Their presence is a graced gift of hope. Introduce yourself and welcome them, because these pilgrims are there to satisfy a need and desire, to be with and receive the greatest gift they could ever receive, the presence of the God, who dwells in each one of us, the God who loves every one of his children, the God who is love, the God who is Emmanuel.
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