Sainthood Sunday: St. Nicholas

It would be really cool to win the lottery.

I'm not talking about winning the "small" lottery of about $12 million. That would be cool, but really cool would be winning one of those times when it gets to about $250 million. Can you imagine the good that you could do with all of that money?

I always make sure to include that in my prayers whenever I am asking God to reward me with a lottery drawing. I'm sure he's waiting for a really good jackpot, too. My dad always told me that the rich are like the poor, just with more zeroes.

I think he has a point. Sure, things would be great with a lot of money. Let's not kid ourselves. But at the end of the day, the things that money has no impact on, and there are a lot of things, are still going to be around. The little choices you make every day are still going to be with you.

This is why a reflection on St. Nicholas is so important. This was a man who came from a family that had a lot of money and when his parents died when he was young, he made a point of promising only to use his money for good. The story goes that his neighbor came upon hard times and financially couldn't come up with a dowry for his three daughters. Just as it looked like they were headed to prostitution in order to make a living, Nicholas went by the window at night and tossed in a bag of money that was used as a dowry to marry off the first daughter.

It continued for the next two daughters as well. I can't imagine what the father must have been going through. It is a terrible thing to see your family suffer because of your inability to provide for them, granted you can say it is "just material things" but at the end of the day, it hurts. The gifts of Nicholas must have been an incredible blessing.

Of course this story gives rise to St. Nicholas and Santa Claus (Dutch for St. Nicholas) leaving presents for children at Christmas time. There are good folks who have different opinions about materialism and the like when it comes to Christmas, but let's consider something.

Should our generosity be equal to that of St. Nicholas? Shouldn't we desire to help those in need as much as we desire to give to the people we know who may not be suffering as much? Notice that St. Nicholas didn't give so much that the father would become dependent on his help, he just gave what the father needed. That is an important distinction.

To be generous enough to give someone what they need rather than what they want is a very key concept. To be able to do it when we are wealthy and capable of giving people what they want requires discipline. I once heard it said that God wouldn't mind if you are rich, just that he is going to ask how you got it and what you are going to do with it.

That would probably be the difference between someone who is rich in spirit and someone who is poor in spirit.

As we approach Christmas and we start to get all of our gifts in order, ask yourself if you are providing wants or needs. Are you giving to those who need it or those who simply want more?

Maybe during Christmas we can ask ourselves what "Santa Claus" would really do.