almsgiving

SAINTS: Frances of Rome — When You Did For The Least Ones, by Greg Friedman

March 6, 2017

Frances of Rome When You Did For The Least Ones Greg Friedman

From: Lent With The Saints Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18; Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15; Matthew 25:31-46 The first days of Lent feature scriptural selections that emphasize the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Today Moses articulates the love of neighbor as part of God’s law. The people’s conduct is motivated by the holiness of the God they worship. Jesus makes that motivation even more personal, in the famous Matthew 25 passage, in which he identifies himself with the poor and needy to whom we should minister in the world. Frances of Rome, in the fourteenth century, can easily be patron of our Lenten almsgiving, as we seek the face of Jesus in hungry, naked, homeless, ill, or imprisoned people. Married to a [...]

LENTEN MEDITATION: Introduction to Lent — Almsgiving by Mike Aquilina

March 12, 2015

From the website: Catholic Education Resource Center Of the three marks of Lent – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – almsgiving is surely the most neglected. And yet, in the only place where the Bible brings all three together, the inspired author puts the emphasis firmly on the last: “Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. . . . It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life,” (Tobit 12:8-9). Why is almsgiving better than prayer and fasting? Because it is prayer, and it involves fasting. Almsgiving is a form of prayer because it is “giving to [...]

LENT: Almsgiving — or Self-Giving, or Works of Mercy, by Harold A. Buetow

March 11, 2015

From Embrace Your Renewal The Paradoxes of Almsgiving Almsgiving is full of paradoxes. For one, Jesus told us that there’s more happiness in giving than in receiving, (Acts 20:35). The inclination to give is rooted in the depths of the human heart. People who respond to the impulse to give themselves to others without expecting anything in return experience a profound interior satisfaction. Giving to the needy not only from our abundance, but sacrificing something more, fosters the kind of self-denial that’s essential to authentic Christian living. Especially during Lent, we’re called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who, in perfect obedience to the Heavenly Father’s will, emptied himself, (Philippians [...]

LENTEN MEDITATION: The More You Give Of Yourself, The More You Find Of Yourself by Azim Jamal & Harvey McKinneon

March 10, 2015

From The Power of Giving “A rich life,” writes philosopher and theologian Cornel West, “consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it.” Every one of us can have a rich life if we choose. If you are wealthy but unable to share your wealth or give of your possessions and knowledge, you are not really rich. Conversely, if you are not wealthy but give of your self, your time, and your knowledge, you are indeed quite rich – and you will receive far more than you can ever imagine. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “there is always enough for the needy but never enough for the greedy.” Have you ever noticed how the needy frequently find a way to be [...]