If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
“An ancient tradition tells of our Lord’s appearing to Jerome. It seems that Jesus asked him: Jerome, what have you to offer me? The saint is said to have replied: I can offer you my writings, Lord. Christ indicated that this was not sufficient. What can I offer you then … my life of mortification? The Lord again responded: No, that is not enough either. Jerome finally asked very pointedly: Lord, what then is left for me to offer you? Christ’s immediate answer was: You can offer me your sins Jerome.
It is frequently difficult for us to recognize our own sins and weaknesses for what they truly are, but with the help of Jesus, who continues to look upon us with affection, we can admit our faults, our weaknesses and omissions with courage and brutal sincerity if need be. Knowing that sin separates us from God and our fellow men, we need to make an effort not to cover up anything or cushion the account of our personal sins with excuses.
Such subterfuges only serve to impede the fervent contemplative live our Lord desires for us in the midst of our daily duties. Jesus wants us to entrust our sins and their consequences to Him so that He may relieve us of them. In exchange for our heartfelt contrition, Jesus offers us the peace and happiness of drinking from the source of eternal life.”
Jerome of Stridon (c. 347-420) as cited by Fulton J. Sheen in “The Cries of Jesus from the Cross: An Anthology” and recounted by Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 7 (London: Scepter, 1993) 327-328.
Jerome was one of the four doctors or fathers of the Western Church and the most learned of all.
And notice the greatest gift or act of generosity he could give to Jesus was not his writings or his life of piety and mortification, but rather, His sins. Christ can’t have His way in our lives to help us conform to the image of Christ if we do not do this.
It matches everything we have learned about generosity over the years, if you really think about it.
Christ cares not how much we give (that’s what the world looks at). He cares what we hold back and what that says about our hearts. It reveals the sin of disobedience to His command not to store up treasures on earth and shows our misplaced trust.
That’s only one sin that comes to mind linked to generosity. Consider a few others.
We may harbor pride, thinking we earned the resources we possess when God gave us the ability to produce that wealth. Or we may be guilty of greed, thinking that we need money to sustain us for the remainder of our lives.
Sit with Jesus today. Ask Him to bring to mind your sins, specifically the ones related to money. Give them Jesus.
Even as our salvation starts with confessing our sins to God, our sanctification comes into view as the process of realizing old ways or worldly patterns of living that need to go to position us to grow in generosity. Do you want this? I hope so.
Giving your sins related to money (or anything else) to Jesus emerges as the best gift you can give this Christmas.