Generosity

I once lived with a priest, an older man, who worked with me as an assistant in the parish. He was a constant visitor, and would always seem to go the extra mile when people were in need. He spent time with anyone who needed his presence. He got involved with foreign health workers who, at the time, were being exploited by unscrupulous employers. He would fight their corner. He was always dipping into his own pocket to help families who had difficulty to make ends meet. This often meant that he was left poor himself.

I thought of him as I read the story of the widow whom Jesus watched putting two small coins into the Temple treasury. In contrast with those who gave a lot of what they had left over, she gave all she had to live on. She could have given half of what she had. No, she gave everything. This dear priest gave everything, his time, his money, his very self.

Today’s liturgy links the widow in the Gospel with the widow of Sidon. She gave the last of her meal and oil to the prophet Elijah in the time of famine. God rewarded her, and the jar of meal and the jug of oil was not spent until the famine was over. She trusted enough to give all she had.

I came across this prayer for generosity:

O generous Father, fill us with a sense of your love for all people. Help us to realise that what we have is not really our own but ultimately belongs to you. Help us to see that it has been given to me so that we might share it with all your other children on earth.

Help us to be generous with the gift of time which you have given to us. May we show on our faces that we do have time for others, time to listen, time to share the burden, time to share their joy.

Help us to leave behind the self-centred routine which has taken us away from family and neighbours.

Help us to be generous with our emotions. May our feelings and reactions be warmed by love.

When we feel like reacting in self-importance, show us how to be humble.

When we are stung and seek revenge, help us to reach out in forgiveness.

When we are fired to anger, help us to be patient and gentle.

When we are full of prejudice and intolerance, show us how we might allow the other person to be different.

O God of all giving, overwhelm us with a sense of your love, so that all we have is for you, all we do is with you, and all we are is in you.