Certainly that was not the idea at Christmas. We don't give presents simply to discharge our duty, or relieve ourselves of some self-imposed obligation, or quiet our ego by returning something back of equal value. Such notions falsify the meaning of giving. Both at Christmas, and now, our Mother the Church asks everything of us, total gift, complete love, self-donation, the giving of our presence to others who need and want us to be with them. Our Lenten practices of prayer, penance and almsgiving are rooted in the notion that we are estranged from God and from others.
Sin is another word for separation, alienation and estrangement.
It means we are torn away from each other and are distant from each other. We feel out of touch with what really matters in life, out of touch with our faith, and distant from God. Our lives with others and our lives of prayer have within them awkward silences. We don't know what to say to others or to God. Our prayers have been replaced by silence.