What Shall I Bring?

Last Wednesday at RCIA, during the reflection of the upcoming Gospel, I kept thinking about the movie "The Little Drummer Boy". The 3 Kings (or Magi, or Wise men) brought Jesus precious gifts from their region, "normal" gifts for a king.
During the first reading, Isaiah spells it all out:

Nations shall walk by your light,

and kings by your shining radiance.

                                         Isaiah 60:3

It is just amazing to me all of the prophecies in the Old Testament. Why haven't I noticed it before now? Then there's this also from the first reading:

bearing gold and frankincense

                                       Isaiah 60:6

The gospel tells the "story" of the Magi and how Herod tried to trick them into telling him where Jesus was. The Magi were warned in a dream so they left without reporting to Herod. Has anyone else noticed how powerful dreams were back then? Incredible! It makes me want to start paying better attention to mine, for sure.

If you were going to see the Baby Jesus, what would you take him? This question was posed to us at RCIA by Sister. Someone jokingly said, "diapers...you can't have enough diapers". If you're a parent, you know that's true. But, being serious...what would you bring?

The Meditation Song for Mass was "In the Bleak Midwinter" (Gustav T. Holst and Christina G. Rossetti). The last verse says it all:

 What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; 

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet

what I can I give him: give my heart.

We may be the richest people on the planet and have more than enough material items, but if we don't give our heart we've given him nothing. That is all he asks of us: to give him our hearts. 

One way we can do that is by using our talents for the Church. We all have a talent. I'm not talking about the "artsy" talent. As St. Caesarius of Arles said, it may be the talent of devotion or chastity. It may be dedicating our lives to live as the saints did. It may be doing our best to live without sin. If you aren't involved in your parish, get involved. Look through the different ministries your parish offers and find one that suits your talent. Greeters have a special talent to make people feel welcome as they walk through the door. Eucharistic Ministers have a talent to serve the parishioners. You don't have to be a musician; you don't have to have a lot of time to volunteer. You only have to have the willingness to bring your talent to the feet of Baby Jesus.