The adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on people’s lives and livelihoods have been enormous. Yet one of the positive takes from these long painful months is that it manifested the beauty of human kindness. We did not only experience the sadness of shutting down our livelihoods and being separated from one another for safety reasons, we have also experienced joy of mutual support and generosity. People were so willing to give and receive help from one another. Everyone became both benefactor and beneficiary. A poor Lady who received a lot of support from neighbors heard about the refugees from Afghanistan and donated some food from the little she had received. When people asked the reasons for her actions, she said, “I know I don’t have enough to save them, but I have enough to help them.”
Generous Heart
Jesus saw in the widow who gave everything she had owned, a generous heart that was ready to spare nothing for good, just as Elijah depended on the kindness of a poor widow who was willing to spend her last meal to help him. This unreserved kindness shows that giving is not about having the means, but more about having the heart. For those who give from the heart think about how much they are helping by giving, not how much they are losing.
In the world today, people give help for numerous reasons. Parents sacrifice their convenience for their children’s wellbeing. Friends go the extra mile to save their struggling fellows. Lovers give up their possessions to support their beloved. People show charity even to people they do not know. So, we ask ourselves, what is the reason for our giving? Any act of kindness devoid of the heart cannot be considered an act of charity because charity is not just the act of giving; it includes the heart of giving. Since the heart is the centre of affectivity, when our act of giving comes from the heart, it does not make us feel greater than the receiver, it makes everyone feel great for sharing our common humanity.
[Readings: 1 Kgs 17:10-16; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44]
Thank you, Fr. Tony. When I see the “homeless” with their cups out for donations from motorists, I try to give something. I know my donation will not solve their problem, but it will help them in a way that I don’t know.