“A charming legend relates that at the birth of Jesus the shepherds hurried to the stable with different gifts. Each brought what he had; some brought the fruits of their labour, others some precious item. But as they were all presenting their gifts, there was one shepherd who had nothing to give. He was extremely poor; he had no gift to present. As the others were competing to offer their gifts, he stood apart, embarrassed. At a certain point, Saint Joseph and Our Lady found it hard to receive all those gifts, especially Mary, who had to hold the baby. Seeing that shepherd with empty hands, she asked him to draw near. And she put the baby Jesus in his arms. That shepherd, in accepting him, became aware of having received what he did not deserve, of holding in his arms the greatest gift of all time. He looked at his hands, those hands that seemed to him always empty; they had become the cradle of God. He felt himself loved and, overcoming his embarrassment, began to show Jesus to the others, for he could not keep for himself the gift of gifts.” (Pope Francis)

Mary wants to do the same for each of us. As we come with empty hands, she lovingly places the Gift of gift, the Lord of lords, the Beginning and the End in our hands. It has nothing to do with our worthiness or unworthiness. He is God’s gift to us. Will we receive him humbly and gratefully, not to be kept for ourselves in a selfish way, but to be an instrument in his hands? Christmas is not one day of the year. It is really every day in our lives. God comes to us to give himself to us so that we may give him to others by the way we live.