The Boys and the Beggar
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Almost twenty-five years ago, I traveled to Madrid, Spain for the Baptism of my nephew, Alejandro. We celebrated the Baptism in the family’s parish church. After the Baptism, we moved to the church hall for the party. My sister and her husband had arranged to have lots of food and drinks to celebrate Alejandro’s Baptism. Alejandro’s older brothers, Santiago and Daniel, about ages three and five respectively, were in the church hall with other family members and friends. At one point during the party, my sister turned to me and asked, “Where are Santi and Daniel?” Nobody seemed to know where they were. Panic set in. Everyone started looking for them. As everyone was looking for them, the boys walked back into the hall from the outside, each of them eating a piece of bread. Everyone was relieved to see them, but my sister asked them, “Where were you? Where did you get the bread?” The boys, surprised by all the worry, replied, “Del mendigo,” “from the beggar”! They remembered seeing a beggar outside of the church and went out to see him and ask for some of his bread, which he gave to them! This generous beggar has been forever etched into my memory. The one who begged for his sustenance willingly gave some of his bread to my nephews.
Almsgiving is one of the three foundational disciples of Lent, with the other two being prayer and fasting. Almsgiving is donating money or goods to the poor and doing other acts of charity. Almsgiving is "a witness to fraternal charity" and "a work of justice pleasing to God." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2462).
We heard Jesus preach and teach about almsgiving in the gospel passage on Ash Wednesday,
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
Matthew 6:1-4
And yet, almsgiving can be the "forgotten" practice of Lent. If that is true for you this Lent, you can you still catch up in these last days of the season.
There is still time to donate to our Take Out Hunger/End Hunger New England meal packaging event. Using the parish-specific links below, make sure to click Give Now and then select Take Out Hunger from the drop-down menu.
You are also invited to sign up for a shift at our March 24 meal packaging event. Volunteers of all ages welcome. This is a great service project for individuals and families! Anyone under 13 would need to be accompanied by an adult.
