Almsgiving is one of the “pillar” virtues of Lent, along with prayer and fasting. We give alms because Jesus commands us to and because it covers a multitude of sins—and most of us can use that! But are some kinds of almsgiving better than others?
There are three kinds of almsgiving in my life. The last is the most important.
Money
The first is writing a check. And as the number of checks I write mounts during the year, I feel good about it. After all, money going to the poor isn’t being spent on myself. So that’s a sacrifice, right?
Well, yes and no. If I give money that I won’t miss, it’s a good thing, but I’m not giving of myself in the way I see Jesus doing in scripture. So I need to look around for more ways to give.
Time
Pretty much all my spare time goes to Virtue Connection. I write, make videos, upload instruction, posts memes—and take courses on how to do all that. But it’s mostly spent pecking away at my laptop. Which is still not the kind of “giving of self” that looks like what Jesus did. My readers and students say that my teaching and writing is bringing them closer to God, but meanwhile I’m sitting comfortably in my own house three feet from my fridge, doing what I enjoy.
Ourselves
What does it mean to give ourselves, in addition to money and time? Let me share some stories of what my faltering experience of “giving of myself” has taught me. I used to work in downtown Washington DC, and on the way to noon Mass every day, I’d pass a dozen or so homeless folks. Here are some of my almsgiving adventures (and misadventures!) I hope these snapshots bolster your courage to, as Mother Teresa put it, “give till it hurts.” I found that the pain was usually to my pride.
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Antoinette was a 16-year-old begging outside the CVS drug store. She said she couldn’t live with her mother anymore and was staying with a woman who gave her a bedroom, but zero supplies for her personal hygiene or for school. The school was willing to let her attend for free, but she needed school supplies to start, and a uniform that cost $112. I looked into her eyes, then looked around—to see whether she was being trafficked. It seemed she wasn’t. I pray she wasn’t.
We went inside the store where I invited her to pick out what she needed. As she chose a pack of 3×5 cards or a ball-point pen, she asked, “Is this OK?” “Can I have this, too?”
This is where it gets painful. I knew I would buy a $3.60 cup of coffee later and think nothing of it, and Antoinette was asking whether she could have a ball-point pen. What “giving of myself” meant then was to recognize that I couldn’t make everything all right for her, but I could give her a word of hope. I told her she was beautiful and strong and smart and that I could tell she had what it took to get good grades and be a success in life. She smiled.
Then I thought of the cash I had withdrawn from the bank. It suddenly seemed loathsome sitting in my wallet, as if it had been stolen, as if it did not belong to me. I gave her money for a uniform. Then I gave her more for toiletries and cab fare to pick up her uniform. God, please let Antoinette be the one who escapes, who makes it to the finish line. Give her the support she needs at each step of her perilous journey to adulthood. Amen.
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I didn’t talk with him long enough even to ask his name, but after I handed him a “care package” with water and peanut butter crackers, he screwed up his face and announced, “I’m not eatin’ that!” The next day, I replaced the crackers with sausage meat-sticks.
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I walked past Jane in the morning and Lorita in the afternoon on the same day. I knew their names and I knew neither one had a chance of ever being employed. But I looked straight ahead and kept walking. Why? Because I fell for the trap the Enemy set for me: I suddenly had doubts that what I would give them would be enough.
Of course it’s not enough. But a smile? A recognition of each woman as a unique person with a name? Asking them how they are doing? That costs nothing. So…I blew it that day.
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Joe stood at the subway entrance looking downcast like a faded Santa Claus, with white hair and beard and sporting a stained Ralph Lauren pajama top for a shirt. I handed him two meat-sticks. “Do you know how to get into these things?” I asked. He said he did. I asked him his name. I told him mine and asked, as I often do, if he would pray for me.
A request for prayer often brings a smile that comes right up from the sidewalk, and breaks in a smile like the sun coming out from clouds. A face a moment ago grey and downcast now beamed with the joy of real connection. “Yes, I will,” he said. “Thank you,” I answered, “I’ll pray for you, too.”
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Wesley was occupying his usual spot on the heat grate when I approached him. I like Wesley because we both like colorful markers. Wesley is tall. I offered him a small meat-stick, the kind I can carry everywhere and they have protein. A wave of inadequacy come over me, like, “Is this teeny sausage all you can manage to give this big guy? Really?” I was holding it in my hand, but apparently not really giving it to him. He took it from me and then said, “Do you want it?”
I believe in the adage, “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing badly.” Yes, just get out there and do it, even if you don’t know how. But sometimes it hurts our pride: we don’t enjoy looking like fools in front of ourselves, let alone being shown up in generosity by a man who has nothing.
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This is where the virtue of courage kicks in. I’m not going to give up even if I keep failing. If I have a hard time giving of myself to the poor, it’s because I have forgotten how to be that “little child” who inherits the Kingdom of God. It’s because I’ve forgotten that each of us is equally loved and equally dependent on Divine Providence, including the poor ones who make me rich by revealing my true poverty.
Lord, let us not forget to laugh at our inadequacy before you, and remember that you love to see us try our best to imitate you. Amen.
Love always,
Rose
“When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others.” St. Peter Chrysologus
Leah
Thank you Rose- a smile and prayer are wonderful connections! Happy Spring! God Bless
Sabine Paul
Thanks for the reflection. I work downtown DC too and would pass a lot of homeless people on my way to the office so your examples under gift of ourselves is very relatable. Most often then not, I did not give as much as I could.
Rose Folsom
You may remember that Mother Teresa said to give the poor what the rich get with money. I think the #1 thing the rich get with money is respect. For me, telling them my name and asking for theirs, and asking them to pray for me allows them to be the “rich” ones, even in a brief exchange.
Jan Mullin
Perfectly beautiful!
Diane Upham
You are a blessing to me!!
Lisa Mummert
Thank you Rose.
Rose Folsom
Thanks for tuning in, Lisa!
Fae
Thank you so much, Rose. I love the idea of asking the people you meet to pray for you. I still remember my encounters in the Metro system with Darryl and James, two people who, when I talked with each of them on two different occasions, left me with an indelible feeling of being blessed. It was their gift to me, or should I say Christ’s gift to me. And I still offer prayer for them – I never saw either of them again.
Karen Coombe
Often I would think when I passed the homeless in NYC – there but for the grace of GOD go I. Very challenging to know how best to aid/serve these dear souls. Thank you Rose. Blessings, Karen
Tom Roberts
All this took me immediately to 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, especially 13:3. It reads “If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.” It’s a message much bigger than I can grasp. I must read it many times.
Mary Stroud
Thank you Rose for sharing. Your words and stories helped me understand how to expand almsgiving. I’ll pray for you. Mary Ellen
Nancy Barlow
Great reflection on almgiving at times I try and remember a smile and a Good morning sometimes is all that person wants to be recognized as a child of God.
Leigh Easter
Thank you Rose for your examples of love, and how to give alms. I know I fall far short of giving alms and I so desperately want to get better. You have given me ideas to make up packs of non-perishabe items, food, toiletries, etc., keep extra blankets and clothes in my car, so that if I see a need I’m prepared to respond. You are a blessing! Trusting in Jesus!
Rose Folsom
Great, Leigh! Other than giving in person, which is wonderful, there’s an organization that happens to operate out of a home down the street from me that provides supplies directly to homeless women. You can check them out if you like at https://isupportthegirls.org/get-involved/product-donations/
Suzanne Landis
Thank you, Rose, for sharing yourself with us. Stories stay in my mind and heart when words of wisdom float in and out. You are a true inspiration!
Rose Folsom
Thank you, Suzanne. And we’ll keep you (and anyone else who wants to join) in the loop on an Emmitsburg pilgrimage.