Almsgiving

It is inevitable that Jeffrey and his family will visit my family's home in two weeks carrying a beautiful Easter Lilly and dressed in their Easter best. It has been an annual visit for the past fifteen years and it is the only time of year that we see this family. My mom taught Jeffrey 15 years ago in her special education classroom and the family still feels a deep loyalty and sense of gratitude to my mother, even after all of these years. Yet this family does not have the money to buy this Easter Lilly every year-they live in extreme poverty but they give of what they do not have; they give, not from their abundance, but from their poverty.

A few weeks ago on Ash Wednesday, we heard the words, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." Turn away from sin and be faithful to the good news. Turn away from what inhibits us from God, from those obstacles to our relationship with God, and turn towards the Gospel. How can we, in these last couple of weeks of Lent turn towards God and towards the good news that we hear? What can we do within our own lives to continue the conversion, the change of heart and of mind that has happened to us during Lent?

For the past two weeks at the end of our liturgy, we have heard about two of the three pillars of Lent: prayer and fasting. And the third pillar of Lent that we hear about today is almsgiving. We often think of almsgiving as the giving of money or food to the poor and we often give out of our abundance. And while this is important and good, I think that we can think of almsgiving in broader terms. Almsgiving is not only the giving of food and money but also the sharing of our time, energy, talents and gifts. It is the intentional turning towards the other and the recognition of the desire and the need to be in solidarity with the other.

St. Ignatius writes, "The love that impels me to give alms should come from on high, that is, from the love of our God our Lord, so that the greater or the lesser love I have for these individuals is for the sake of God." The love that impels us to give alms, to turn towards the other, is from the love of God. How can the love that we feel from and for God drive us to turn towards the needs of the other?

The author Margaret Silf, in an article on almsgiving, asks the question, "What gifts are yours to spend this Lent, this life?" What personal gifts of yourself can you share with the other over the next few weeks of Lent? Can you share your time or your energy with a friend in need? Can you lend a listening ear to a family member who is struggling with a problem? Can you give, even when you feel as though you have nothing left to give, for the sake of someone else?

In Luke's gospel, we encounter a poor widow who puts two small copper coins into the treasury. Jesus upon seeing her actions and the actions of the rich who were with her says, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." How can you act in accordance with the poor widow? How can you share your gifts of time, energy, and talent, not from your abundance but from your poverty?