Power in quiet giving

The texts today from the Roman CatholicLectionary help us gain insight into the role of almsgiving, prayer and fasting in our spiritual growth. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the advice of the rabbis to the Jewish community about how to seek reconciliation with God after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The formula involves prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Early in July, this year, the Islamic season of Ramadan will begin and Muslims will pray, fast and give alms. The psalmist today praises God for His gracious gifts and notes that the righteous person is generous in sharing his wealth with the poor. Paul appeals to the Corinthians to continue to be generous in their support as cheerful givers who will know a rich relationship with God through their generosity. The care of people in need is not disputed as action which is modelled in our Tradition beginning with the hospitality of Abraham and shown in the care of the “widows and orphans” by Jesus. In recent times, the Gospel of Prosperity has perhaps come close to tying our material wealth to our generosity in giving. The motivation for our prayer, fasting and almsgiving is brought to focus by the passage from the Gospel of Matthew where we attend to Our Father who is in secret by being discreet and quite when we pray, give and fast. Friar Jude details many of the benefits of fasting to spiritual growth as he gets to the apparent paradox between letting our light shine before others (Matthew 5:16) and the advice in the Gospel today. Our nature to seek self aggrandizement is so easily brought into play. We grow spiritually from turning away from focus on ourselves. Prayer, almsgiving and fasting are practices which give us the opportunity to put the needs of the other before our continuous self concern. An ancient formula continues to bring life today.