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June 2007 Issue
Generosity
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were a group of some 30 American priests traveling together
to the famed hilltop town of Assisi for several days
of prayer and refl ection. It was the early 1970s during
an energy crisis. Fuel was severely restricted, especially
in Europe. It was November and a lovely light blanket
of snow covered the ancient cobbled streets of the town
where St. Francis and St. Clare gave dramatic witness
to their love for Christ. The rooms of the retreat house
where we were lodged were so cold that you had to keep
your overcoat and gloves on during much of the day and
night. Still, there was a kind of warmth enveloping
that place. |
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It came from the still quite powerful energy
flowing from the generosity of those great saints. It all became
quite clear at the end of the retreat. The group of us decided
that we would take up a collection and make an offering to the
Poor Clare Sisters. They are the spiritual descendants of St.
Clare. Like Clare and Francis, they live in freely chosen Gospel
poverty. We had prayed in their chapel during the retreat, so,
at the closing service, we gave them our monetary offering.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but we all felt good about our generosity.
When the Sister who was the leader of the community accepted
our gift, she was so gracious in her demeanor and received the
offering with such dignity that everyone felt we were the ones
who were being gifted. It was astonishing. What, then, is really
generosity? Yes, it’s giving with a joyful heart. Yes, it’s
sharing one’s abundance. But that abundance may have nothing
to do with the material alone. In fact, a generosity of spirit
is what makes any sharing really genuine and meaningful. That’s
why our Lord himself marveled at the poor widow’s contribution
to the temple treasury, since she gave her all from her poverty.
You have to believe the Lord is near to sustain you to be that
generous..
Msgr. Gaspar F. Ancona is recently retired.
He is the author of Where the Star Came to Rest, a history
of the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
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