“Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.” ~ St. Gregory Nazianzen
God wants us to care for one another. Deep within, we want to care for one another. But there is something that often stops us and that something is the thought, “I just don’t have enough to give.” Many times, we think that what we have is too paltry. We don’t have enough time to give to another. We don’t have enough material good to give to another. That’s what we think. But, as Gregory Nazianzen reminds us, even a little given to someone who has nothing is overwhelming.
We don’t have eight hours to sit with someone? Maybe that person doesn’t need eight hours of our time. Maybe that person needs us to smile to him or her and say hello to acknowledge the fact that they exist. That could put more of a spark in their hearts than we know. We don’t have five hundred dollars to give? Maybe that person just needs a cup of coffee and a word of cheer. That’s better than being ignored.
In short, we don’t know the impact that we can have on another person’s life by giving even a very little. More to the point, we will never know if we don’t give. If we keep everything to ourselves because we feel unworthy or feel that we don’t have sufficiently enough to give, we will deprive the other person and ourselves of the great gift of charity that warms the souls of all who partake in it.
Giving to people of our time and of our substance changes the people receiving and us who give. Indulge in that great mystery this day.
FAITH ACTION: Try to do something today for someone who looks to be in need.
Remember: Fridays of Lent are Days of Abstinence