Christmas is synonymous with giving, and our model of perfect giving is Jesus. Someone who followed His example well was Mother Teresa. Working among the poor of Calcutta, she inspired millions with her selfless love.

“I see Jesus in every human being,” she said. “I say to myself, ‘This is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.’”

Only someone who knows Christ’s love and has responded to it by passing it on could understand what Mother Teresa means.

Somehow not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give others
Is the joy that comes back to you.
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)