Last Sunday the Opening Prayer (Collect) said this: “O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving [you] have shown us a remedy for sin.” Yes, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three practices during Lent that can help us grow closer to God and to one another. They can help us set aside our selfishness and enable us to widen our world view so that we recognize our responsibility to assist others in need.
We can answer the call to almsgiving by giving money to a food shelf or worthy cause as our resources allow. But there are other ways to fulfill this invitation to be charitable. A parish I used to work at came up with a list of alternative possibilities. I share from that list in today’s blog.
Do some spring cleaning and donate clothes, kitchen items, books, toys, etc. to people in need. Give of your time or talents to volunteer at a local non-profit or at your parish. Participate in a Blood Drive. Clean up a common area at work or home. Help remove winter debris from your neighborhood or a park.
Think about one-on-one ways of giving to others. Send a letter or card to a relative or friend. Tell them why they are important to you. Pay attention to someone you are tempted to brush aside. Reconnect with a friend or relative with whom you have lost touch. Help an elderly neighbor or hassled young parent. Visit someone homebound or ill. Provide a shoulder for someone who needs one.
Acts of charity remind us that we are not here on earth to take care only of ourselves and loved ones. Humanity is interconnected. We need to work together locally and globally for the common good. All life is sacred. All human beings deserve to be treated with dignity.
Reflect on this quotation from Pope Francis: “In today’s world, the sense of belonging to a single human family is fading, and the dream of working together for justice and peace seems an outdated utopia. What reigns instead is a cool, comfortable and globalized indifference, born of deep disillusionment concealed behind a deceptive illusion: thinking that we are all-powerful, while failing to realize that we are all in the same boat.” (Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship, no. 30)
