//Office of Family Life – Diocese of Charlotte//
Fasting from . . .
The Nine Key Teachings of Jesus
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60 Second Wisdom – How Generous are You?
The Generosity Habit – Matthew Kelly – 60 Second Wisdom
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Video Transcript:
“The generosity habit is simple: Give something away every day. It doesn’t need to be money or material things. In fact, the philosophy behind the generosity habit rests on this singular truth: You don’t need money or material possessions to live a life of staggering generosity.
Express your appreciation. Catch someone doing something right. Teach someone the thing you know most about in this world. Spread a positive message. Compliment a stranger. Be a generous lover. Encourage someone just starting out.
And if you do have money and things… Give an unexpected gift. Plant a tree. Support small businesses in your area. Buy a musicians first album. Tip twice as much as usual. Send flowers. Give chocolates. Give some more chocolates. Pay for the next person in line.
So, go on, astound the world with your generosity! Become the most generous person the people in your life have ever known!”
Minute Meditation – Divine Generosity
The tradition of Santa Claus developed in many cultures from the actions of the fourth-century St. Nicholas, a bishop who helped many poor people with gifts to rescue them from destitution. Like all the saints, this holy figure lived the Gospel and followed the example of Jesus, giving freely to others and showering gifts on them in imitation of a gracious God. Over the centuries, we’ve confused Santa and God, or perhaps we’ve created both in an image that was never intended to be theirs. Both are portrayed as keeping a careful account of each good and bad thing we do, weighing our actions against a standard of perfection, recording a black mark each time we make a mistake. It may be a reflection of a strongly authoritarian culture, or it might just be a parent’s desperate attempt to keep antsy kids from misbehaving in the excitement and anticipation of the Christmas season: “Santa’s elves are watching you!” We need to remember always that God’s attitude toward us is far more one of mercy than of judgment. Forgiveness and generosity are the hallmarks of the divine. The psalms tell us that God puts behind himself all our sins. Gifts, by their nature, are something we don’t deserve and can’t earn. And the greatest gift-giver is our God. If this is what our faith tells us, then our Christmas traditions should reflect this.
— from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent
by Diane M. Houdek
The Heart of Generosity
The Generosity Habit – Regrets
The Generosity Habit – I Can Do So Little
The Generosity Habit – Confused About Needs and Wants
//Dynamic Catholic//
Best Lent Ever – Generosity Looks Good on You
Generosity is not passive. It’s alive and dynamic, proactive, always looking for ways to express itself. When I ask people to tell me about the most generous person they know, this is the type of thing they say, “She is always looking for opportunities to be generous.”
The most generous people I know are not just thoughtful and generous with their money and things. They are generous in every way imaginable. This all-around generosity makes them much loved by everyone who knows them and a beacon of God’s love in their community. Their generosity is proactive. They don’t wait to be asked.
Here’s an example of creative, proactive generosity. Life-changing generosity.
Anastasia Petrov is a Russian immigrant and a nurse. “I love America,” she says to me with her sixty-two-year-old smile. A few years ago, one of the nurses she works with at the hospital got cancer and had to take some time off work. Anastasia didn’t know her very well, but she knew that the other nurse had three kids and that she needed to work. Anastasia knew this woman would be out of sick days very quickly and one day at lunch Anastasia heard some of the other nurses talking about doing one of those online funding projects to help out.
“We can do better than that!” Anastasia said to her colleagues. They all turned and stared at her; you see, Anastasia was a quiet woman. She was a listener. Plenty of lunch breaks would pass without her saying a single word. “What do you mean?” one of her colleagues asked her. “Everyone loves Jane [the sick nurse]. She is always doing kind things for people. We all have three twelve-hour shifts a week; all we need to do is find three nurses to volunteer an extra shift each week and Jane can keep getting paid until she is well and can come back to work.”
The other nurses stared at her with astonishment and admiration. “I’ll organize the schedule,” Anastasia added. And so she did. Each week while Jane was out of work, Anastasia found three nurses to do an extra shift so that Jane could continue to be paid her full salary.
I learned about this from Sophia, another nurse at the hospital. “How long was Jane off work?” I asked. “Three years!” Sophia replied with a smile. “Anastasia is amazing,” she continued.
This was life-changing generosity. It was creative and proactive.
Now, here is today’s generosity habit.
Make someone’s day! Go out of your way to do something to make someone’s day today. You don’t need me to tell you what to do. The creative genius of generosity is alive and well within you. Seek its counsel and follow where the spirit of generosity leads you. It doesn’t have to be something spectacular. Small and simple acts of generosity can make people’s day.
Matthew Kelly
//Dynamic Catholic//
Daily Reflection – Generosity
