Having talked about prayer and fasting in the last two bulletin columns, this week we’ll focus on almsgiving. The U.S. Bishops’ website says it beautifully: “The foundational call of Christians to charity is a frequent theme of the Gospels. During Lent, we are asked to focus more intently on “almsgiving,” which means donating money or goods to the poor and performing other acts of charity. As one of the three pillars of Lenten practice, almsgiving is “a witness to fraternal charity” and “a work of justice pleasing to God.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2462).”
Almsgiving certainly involves being generous with our money, most especially to the poor. Even if you’re not in a position to donate a large sum of money, even small sacrifices are important — not only can they still have a great impact on those in need (just think of how far a dollar goes for our sister parish in Bangladesh), but just as importantly, it has a tremendous impact on our soul, freeing us from material attachments and helping us realize that our greatest riches come when we share our blessings with others. Lent offers many opportunities to share with others in this way, through some of the special envelopes in your monthly packet, through events that benefit our sister parish, and through our donation bins for St. Vincent de Paul, Christ Child Society and Women’s Care Center, to name a few.
But in addition to sacrificing money, almsgiving may also involve a sacrifice of time for those in need. Pope Francis frequently talks about building a “culture of encounter”, where we not only donate to people living on the margins, but where we actually interact with them and get to know them as our brothers and sisters in Christ. In this respect, I think of our St. Vincent de Paul Conference, where we provide a great deal of material assistance but always emphasize human interaction and relationship-building, recognizing the face of Christ in those we serve. I also think of our upcoming 8th Grade Service Immersion, where our three days of service in Indianapolis will emphasize meeting the people we serve, in the hope that we’ll come to understand that they are more similar to us than we might have imagined.
As we continue through this Lenten season, I urge you to make sure that you’ve made some effort to donate your time and treasure to those in need. And when you do, be sure you accompany those donations with prayer. Because we should never forget the lesson of Matthew 25, that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for Christ.
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