The
Themes of the Lenten season: Almsgiving
By
Cardinal Justin Rigali
This week, we continue our brief Lenten series addressing the three
principal themes of this liturgical season: prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Last week, we reflected on prayer and this week we continue with the
theme of almsgiving.
All three of these concepts are expressions of the basic purpose of
Lent, which is a turning to God, a conversion of heart. In this context,
we are not necessarily speaking about a major conversion from a life
of sin or the process of entering the Church or coming into full communion
with her. For us conversion is the response to the constant challenge
of the Christian life to turn away from sin and turn towards our loving
God. We meditate on this call to conversion in a special way during
Lent and remind ourselves that conversion takes place in relation to
God, to others and to ourself. Prayer calls us to conversion to God
by an increased communication with Him, which always leads to greater
fidelity. Next week, we will discuss fasting, which aids our interior
personal conversion. Almsgiving, which we address this week, highlights
conversion towards our neighbor. It is an opportunity to practice charity
which, as the Scriptures tell us, “covers a multitude of sins”
(1 Peter 4:8).
What is almsgiving?
The Catholic Dictionary defines almsgiving in this manner: “Any
of the corporal works of mercy undertaken from motives of charity for
the relief of our neighbor’s necessity may be called almsgiving.
Almsgiving is part of the universal law of charity and so is obligatory
by the law of nature; each one is bound to give according to his means;
and there is no class of the needy whom we are not bound to help: neither
our enemies nor members of other religious bodies nor notorious sinners
may be excluded from our charity.”
Almsgiving is another area in which we clearly see a complete continuity
with and fulfillment of a teaching found in the Old Testament. In the
Book of Tobit we read: “Give alms from your possessions. Do not
turn your face away from any of the poor, and God’s face will
not be turned away from you. Give alms in proportion to what you own.
If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have
but little, distribute even some of that. But do not hesitate to give
alms; you will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself in the day
of adversity” (Tobit:4:7-9).
It is easy to see here a foreshadowing of the Gospel of the “widow’s
mite (cf. Mark 12:44). Jesus reminds us that we are all called to give
alms, not only those who possess a great abundance of wealth. He does
not exclude from this command those who have only a little to give.
They are also called to follow this commandment. Even the slightest
alms are meaningful in God’s sight.
In your parishes and throughout our archdiocese, you are given many
opportunities to fulfill this commandment. When you contribute to the
support of your parish according to your means or when you generously
give to the diocesan collections which the Bishops of the United Sates
have called for, you are not performing a faceless or mechanical act.
You are being given the opportunity of fulfilling this commandment.
When the Church asks for your generosity she does so in order for you
to help her to fulfill her mission in the world and to aid you in fulfilling
your mission of Christian charity and almsgiving. This is why it is
important to give every person an opportunity to be a part of almsgiving,
even the individual who has very little to give. Just as we may say
that both the wise and the unlearned have an obligation to pray, according
to each one’s own ability, so those with many material possessions
and those with very few have the obligation to give alms. This is part
of the consistency of the Christian life. Just as it can be frustrating
for us to be confronted with someone who says one thing but does another,
so in the Christian life, a profession of faith without the accompanying
spirit and work of charity deprives the external profession of its authenticity.
Lenten Message of our Holy Father
It is interesting to note that our Holy Father has taken as a theme
for his Lenten Message this year the concept of almsgiving. One of the
thoughts he develops is that almsgiving also helps to detach us from
material things. Those who become too attached to material things eventually
discover that these things are harsh masters! If we allow them to dominate
us they will never be sufficient. They never say: “you have given
me enough time and effort.” They always want more and this is
why an addiction to material things, while fooling us into thinking
they will bring us happiness and fulfillment, always leads to disappointment.
By not holding on to everything in a selfish manner, we are really helping
ourselves to be freed from a type of slavery. In the giving of alms,
we practice not only charity but also self-discipline. While the charity
benefits our neighbor, the self-discipline benefits us. “In the
Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly
riches only for self. In the face of the multitudes, who, lacking everything,
suffer hunger, the words of Saint John acquire the tone of a ringing
rebuke: ‘How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the
world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses
to help’” (1 John 3, 17) [Pope Benedict XVI, Message for
Lent, 2008].
Even though our Holy Father is often spoken of as having one of the
great minds of our time, he often presents his thoughts in a very simple
manner, which is very easy to understand. He also shows a remarkable
awareness of the realities of the modern world. In the Lenten Message
we have just cited, he speaks about the distinction between philanthropy
and the giving of alms in a Christian spirit. He points out the danger,
in today’s media driven world, of engaging in mere philanthropy
for the sake of applause or because a particular cause happens to be
popular at the time. “Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is
not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity,
a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God
and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross,
gave his entire self for us. How could we not thank God for the many
people who silently, far from the gaze of the media world, fulfill,
with this spirit, generous actions in support of one’s neighbor
in difficulty?” (Pope Benedict XVI, Lenten Message).
The Eucharist and almsgiving
We have already noted the fact that almsgiving runs as a thread through
both the Old and the New Testaments as being part of a life lived faithfully
in God. Jesus gives us the Bread of Heaven, which was foreshadowed by
the manna given to the Jews in the desert, only after He gives us a
clear teaching on sharing our own bread with the hungry. We proclaim
His death as taking away the sins of the world but we are also told
that charity covers a multitude of sins. Just as Jesus does not give
us the gift of Himself in the Eucharist in a vacuum, we do not receive
or adore Him in the Eucharist in a vacuum. We have mentioned in an earlier
topic that love is expansive. The more we place ourselves before the
Eucharistic Jesus who “loved us to the end,” the more we
will leave His presence filled with charity. This charity is always
expansive, so it is the source of our almsgiving.
If we examine ourselves honestly, we will see that losing our perspective
on life and the relative importance of things and events often leads
to a loss of inner peace. It can also lead to sin. Prayer always helps
us to keep our Christian perspective and prayer before the Eucharistic
Jesus enables us to look upon the Divine Teacher, who places all things
and events in their proper perspective. This is why authentic Eucharistic
prayer always leads to a flowering of charity towards our neighbor.
This charity will be carried out in the true Christian spirit of almsgiving
because it will have strengthened that spirit at its source: Jesus Himself.
Once again, I hope that our faithful people throughout the Archdiocese
are focusing in a special way this Lent on the presence of Jesus in
the Eucharist. This is done by visiting the Blessed Sacrament in our
Churches and spending time before the Eucharist in adoration. If we
do this, we will also strengthen our spirit of generosity, which will
lead to the Lenten practice of almsgiving, done for all the right reasons.
February 28, 2008
Cardinal
Rigali's Lenten Letter 2008