On charity

[Terry_Washingto]

Yesterday on my way to Midday mass, I saw my friend Mary carrying her groceries home from the supermarket. Now she’s barely five feet tall- I’m 5’ 5" so I tower over her the way an adult does over a toddler like my grandnephew Adam- and even though she says she doesn’t need help carrying her groceries home, I stopped and asked her if she wanted me to do so- even if it made me late for Mass.

She said no, as always( amongst other things she was near home so it was hardly worth my while to do so), but was evidently moved by my concern and care for her( I think)- so much so that I would evidently(if asked) risk going to Mass late just so that I could help a friend carry her groceries home.
“Charity” comes from the Latin word “caritas”- meaning “loving concern/care”. “For though I possess the tongue of angels and not of men- and have not charity_ I become but an empty gong sounding!” to quote St. Paul ( who evangelized my favoured patron saint and her husband, SS Priscilla and Aquila) in a famous epistle.
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love- that’s the only thing that there’s just too little of!” runs a Sixties protest song and volunteering to help an old lady carry groceries home just because you can’t bear to see her struggle( even though she says she can carry them ) and more to the point care for her as a friend seems to fit Paul’s description of “charity”( more so than what you put in the collection plate).

Anybody think as I do?

Terry

 

[empantarhei]

YES!!! The works of charity are endless. Truly endless. I carried groceries and laundry for an elderly couple in my apartment building. One day, she barely sees me at my my own door and says, “Oh can you help me?” The one time I couldn’t. I had seriously wrenched my back. I felt so badly!! My back became progressively worse. One week later, they notifed our other neighbor, because they were concerned, not having seen me. Good thing, too; I ran out of groceries and was SOOO hungry but could do nothing about it. So the other neighbor knocked on my door and asked if there was anything she could do. Timidly told her , Well, I am hungry".She asked for a list and went to the grocery store, bought me $100 worth of easy prep groceries and continued carrying the groceries for the elderly couple.
THIS is how it should work. Neighbor watching out for neighbor.
And we are all neighbors, one way or another…
What the world needs now…

 

[AlanFromWichita]

These are great examples of charity. I wouldn’t mind getting to Mass a bit late to help a person, if it came down to that.

One thing that I’m not totally comfortable, though, is how the woman came to know you would be late for Mass if you helped her. Did she know that’s where you were going and asked, “but won’t it make you late for Mass?” If it was more like you told her that it would make you late for Mass but you’ll do it, then sure she would be happy that you would risk Mass, but could that have made her decide she “didn’t need” the help? Because if she knows you’ll be late for Mass, then she might feel guilty to say “yes.”

Alan

 

[JRKH]

Totally agree…thanks for the reminder…

St Therese of Lisieux said to, “do little things with great love”. This is really the core of what she called her “Little Way”. Doing this, she said, is like “an elevator to heaven”.

It really is the small things that can make the biggest difference.

Peace
James

 

[Terry_Washingto]

These are great examples of charity. I wouldn’t mind getting to Mass a bit late to help a person, if it came down to that.

One thing that I’m not totally comfortable, though, is how the woman came to know you would be late for Mass if you helped her. Did she know that’s where you were going and asked, “but won’t it make you late for Mass?” If it was more like you told her that it would make you late for Mass but you’ll do it, then sure she would be happy that you would risk Mass, but could that have made her decide she “didn’t need” the help? Because if she knows you’ll be late for Mass, then she might feel guilty to say “yes.”

Alan

The answer is - she knew me well enough to know that I was on my way to Sunday mass( she’s a Catholic too, possibly a “lapsed” one) but she has also declined my offer to carry her groceries for her on weekdays. Now volunteering to carry groceries for an old lady may not seem world shattering, but I firmly believe, to quote a “Tesco” slogan-every little helps!

Terry

 

[AlanFromWichita]

The answer is - she knew me well enough to know that I was on my way to Sunday mass( she’s a Catholic too, possibly a “lapsed” one) but she has also declined my offer to carry her groceries for her on weekdays. Now volunteering to carry groceries for an old lady may not seem world shattering, but I firmly believe, to quote a “Tesco” slogan-every little helps!

Terry

Oh yes. I absolutely agree. I think it’s important for people to realize that they have the power to do good. They don’t have to found a religious order or start a world hunger organization. None of that would mean anything without the day to day acts of kindness on the part of all who love.

Alan