More About Almsgiving
1. The description of the Last Judgment in the twenty-fifth chapter of
St. Matthew's Gospel would shock many people if they were to read it.
The principles in accordance with which Christ will pronounce sentence
are inescapably clear. Did you feed and clothe the poor for My sake, He
will ask, because you recognised Me in them? If you have done so, you
will certainly be saved. If you have
neglected to do so, you will be condemned for all eternity. Christ does
not ask about anything else, because everything else is subordinate to
the precept of charity. Where there is charity, everything else follows.
Where charity is lacking there is nothing else, because Christianity is
synonymous with charity. Charity, says St. Paul, “is the bond of
perfection.” (Col. 3:14)
“If I should speak with the tongues of
men and of angels,” St. Paul says elsewhere, “but do not have charity, I
have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal ... and if I have
all faith so as to move mountains yet do not have charity, I am nothing.
And if I distribute all my goods to feed the poor ... yet do not have
charity, it profits me nothing.” (Cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-3)
So our
eternal salvation depends on our charity. But it must be charity in
action, not merely in words. “He who has the goods of this world,” says
St. John, “and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how
does the love of God abide in him?” (1st Epistle of St. John, 3:17)
Charity must be expressed in almsgiving and good works, for otherwise it
would be a matter of idle talk which would be powerless to save us.
Our almsgiving should not be dictated simply by natural feelings of
compassion, however, nor by mere philanthropy. It should be
pre-eminently a religious act, springing from supernatural motives.
Because we see the person of Christ in the poor man, we should love and
help him as we should our Divine Redeemer, of Whose Mystical Body he is a
suffering member. This is real Christian charity.
A proud man
may also be liberal in giving away money in order to draw attention to
himself. But this is not Christian almsgiving, which is never the
product of self-love but of the love of God. Let us be more generous in
giving, therefore, but let us always give from the supernatural motive
of Christian charity.
2. We should often read and contemplate
passages in praise of charity and almsgiving which are contained in the
Sacred Scriptures. “Give that which remains as alms, and behold, all
things are clean to you.” (Luke 11:41) “Alms delivereth from death; and
the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and
life everlasting.” (Tob. 12:9) “Redeem thou thy sins with alms and thy
iniquities with works of mercy to the poor.” (Dan. 4:24) “My son, rob
not the poor man of his livelihood: force not the eyes of the needy to
turn away.” (Ecclus. 4:1) “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone
for sins.” (Ecclus. 3:29) “Be merciful, therefore, even as your Father
is merciful ... Give, and it shall be given to you ... For with what
measure you measure, it shall be measured to you.” (Luke 6:36-38) “For
judgment is without mercy to him who has not shown mercy ... And if a
brother or a sister be naked and in want of daily food, and one of you
say to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ yet you do not give
them what is necessary for the body, what does it profit? So faith too,
unless it has works, is dead in itself.” (James 2:13-17)
3. Let
us give away as much as we can in charity, therefore. It does not
matter whether we can afford to give a large sum or a very small amount;
the important thing is to give. God knows our inmost thoughts; He can
judge how detached we are from worldly goods, and if He sees that we are
prepared to share them willingly with the unfortunate poor for His
sake, He will reward us one day. But if we are avaricious and
indifferent to the sufferings of others, He will condemn us to
everlasting punishment.
There is one act of charity which we
can all perform, even if we are poor. We can pray for those who never
pray, for hardened sinners, for heretics, for those who persecute the
Church, for the Missions, for the sick and dying, and for the souls in
Purgatory. This is a spiritual almsgiving of which we are all capable.
Besides prayer, there are all the other spiritual works of mercy from
which to choose.
Showing posts with label almsgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label almsgiving. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Almsgiving - Cardinal Bacci
Almsgiving
1. The view has been expressed that almsgiving is useless and degrading. It is useless, it has been said, because the implementation of social justice should be sufficient to provide for the needs of everybody; and it is degrading, it has been held, because it places the poor man in a position of inferiority to the rich man, and makes him beg for that which is really his right.
This is a false line of reasoning. Social justice can and should do a great deal to achieve a more equal distribution of wealth among men. But social justice cannot do everything.
Until the end of the world the weak will always succumb in the battle of life before the energy and enterprise of the strong. There will always be unfortunates who by reason of some tragic accident are unable to fend for themselves. No matter what form it takes, the State will not be able to provide fully for the disabled and infirm.
There will always be plenty of scope for Christian charity, which does not proceed with the measured stride of justice but with the swift wings of the love of God. It seeks out sorrows which need to be assuaged and wants which need to be relieved. There will always be suffering and want upon earth. “The poor you have always with you,” (Mt. 26:11) Jesus has told us.
It cannot be said that almsgiving is degrading because it makes the receiver inferior to the giver. This may be so if alms are given from motives of mere philanthropy. But when almsgiving is accompanied by charity and understanding and the donor sees in the poor man the person of Jesus Christ, there is no difference of status between the two individuals. They are brothers who wish to love and help one another, since both are members of the mystical Body of Christ. In this case it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Christian almsgiving is the fulfilment of an obligation and is a source of merit for the giver. As for the receiver, not only are his wants relieved, but he is the means by which his wealthier brother can acquire merit and fulfil his obligations.
2. Even if it is not very great, wealth is a dangerous thing. It is a burden which hampers us spiritually unless it is enriched by charity. Of itself, wealth is opposed to the spirit of the Gospel. In the Church of God, therefore, the only fitting role which rich men can assume is to place their abundance at the service of charity and become the servants of the poor.
St. Thomas Aquinas says that wealth can be an instrument of virtue and that it is only in this sense that it can be called good. If it impedes the practice of virtue, then it is evil. (Contra Gentes, 111:134) Let us make good use of our assets, therefore, and give generously to those who are in need without allowing our motives to become tainted with self-interest.
“Sell what you have and give alms,” said Christ. “Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure unfailing in heaven where neither thief draws near nor moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33) It is the possession of this kind of treasure that will comfort us at the hour of death.
3. We must be detached from the goods of this world because they are corruptible and cause us to forget God. Even if we have been placed in easy circumstances, let us be poor in spirit. We can be poor in spirit by giving alms from motives of Christian charity. We need the mercy of God, and Our Lord has told us that He will be merciful only to those who show mercy to others.
We need God's forgiveness for all our sins, and the Holy Spirit assures us that our iniquities are redeemed by almsgiving. “Redeem thou thy sins with alms and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor.” (Dan. 4:24) Almsgiving is a means to our personal sanctification.
1. The view has been expressed that almsgiving is useless and degrading. It is useless, it has been said, because the implementation of social justice should be sufficient to provide for the needs of everybody; and it is degrading, it has been held, because it places the poor man in a position of inferiority to the rich man, and makes him beg for that which is really his right.
This is a false line of reasoning. Social justice can and should do a great deal to achieve a more equal distribution of wealth among men. But social justice cannot do everything.
Until the end of the world the weak will always succumb in the battle of life before the energy and enterprise of the strong. There will always be unfortunates who by reason of some tragic accident are unable to fend for themselves. No matter what form it takes, the State will not be able to provide fully for the disabled and infirm.
There will always be plenty of scope for Christian charity, which does not proceed with the measured stride of justice but with the swift wings of the love of God. It seeks out sorrows which need to be assuaged and wants which need to be relieved. There will always be suffering and want upon earth. “The poor you have always with you,” (Mt. 26:11) Jesus has told us.
It cannot be said that almsgiving is degrading because it makes the receiver inferior to the giver. This may be so if alms are given from motives of mere philanthropy. But when almsgiving is accompanied by charity and understanding and the donor sees in the poor man the person of Jesus Christ, there is no difference of status between the two individuals. They are brothers who wish to love and help one another, since both are members of the mystical Body of Christ. In this case it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Christian almsgiving is the fulfilment of an obligation and is a source of merit for the giver. As for the receiver, not only are his wants relieved, but he is the means by which his wealthier brother can acquire merit and fulfil his obligations.
2. Even if it is not very great, wealth is a dangerous thing. It is a burden which hampers us spiritually unless it is enriched by charity. Of itself, wealth is opposed to the spirit of the Gospel. In the Church of God, therefore, the only fitting role which rich men can assume is to place their abundance at the service of charity and become the servants of the poor.
St. Thomas Aquinas says that wealth can be an instrument of virtue and that it is only in this sense that it can be called good. If it impedes the practice of virtue, then it is evil. (Contra Gentes, 111:134) Let us make good use of our assets, therefore, and give generously to those who are in need without allowing our motives to become tainted with self-interest.
“Sell what you have and give alms,” said Christ. “Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure unfailing in heaven where neither thief draws near nor moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33) It is the possession of this kind of treasure that will comfort us at the hour of death.
3. We must be detached from the goods of this world because they are corruptible and cause us to forget God. Even if we have been placed in easy circumstances, let us be poor in spirit. We can be poor in spirit by giving alms from motives of Christian charity. We need the mercy of God, and Our Lord has told us that He will be merciful only to those who show mercy to others.
We need God's forgiveness for all our sins, and the Holy Spirit assures us that our iniquities are redeemed by almsgiving. “Redeem thou thy sins with alms and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor.” (Dan. 4:24) Almsgiving is a means to our personal sanctification.
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