Good morning good people,
May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is 10th August 2024.
We celebrate the feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr.
We reflect on 2 Cor 9:6-10 and the Gospel of John 12:24-26.
Generosity is being kind to the unkind and all kinds.
No one is born with generosity. We either acquire it or learn it by time and experience. The bigheartedness is indeed a gesture that allows us to come closer to God by coming closer to the poor and the needy. To be generous means not only materially but in every aspect to the one in need. It is an attitude we develop and relate to those who are less fortunate than us.
We create billboards in front of God by being generous acts and gestures.
Only by giving, we force God to act immensely and immediately. “God will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance, and still have something to spare for all sorts of good works.” (2 Cor.9:8). The Holy Spirit empowers us to give to the full. The responsorial Psalm sings, “Happy the person who takes pity and lends.” (Ps.112:5).
We all lag when it comes to giving to the poor. At times we think of our own good, and our family’s welfare, forgetting the poor intentionally justifying with reasons that logically suits us. Martyrdom is the supreme forgiving and being generous and St. Lawrence demonstrated by pointing the poor as the treasures of the Church.
Forgetting and neglecting our responsibility to the poor taints the relationship with God. Our giving and being generous needs glory God not our personal advertisements and vainglory. The more we give, the more we come closer to God. By constantly dying to our selfishness and pride, we shine in sharing, giving and generosity. Selfishness is the weed that grows wild when generosity is sparingly sprayed on the surface of life.
In every little way, let us be a witness to God’s love. May the Lord help us to match the generosity of St. Lawrence. God bless you.