Being Generous
I remember my first picture in Bacolod City was in front of its Cathedral. Then only four, I used to go here with my Mom and Aunt Gamay to attend mass. After 24 long years, the cathedral hasn't changed a bit except for a new stall of religious artifacts that hardly affected the infamous Neo-Roman arch design of this landmark.
But what caught my attention more are its pseudo-dwellers...on a dilapidated trolley a disabled beggar is asking for alms, two kids are glumly asleep on a makeshift table beneath Virgin Mary's statue, & several young women are begging with one holding her infant brother. In a city known for its endless, contagious smiles, one cannot argue that smiles are nowhere near these people. Giving them alms is far from bringing them complete joy. If there was only a perfect world, no one will be left with no one to care...nobody would ask people for a coin or two...no child will be sleeping on cold pavements with empty stomaches then waking up still sans anything to eat...
But all these are planned. HE knows what HE is doing because HE knows everyone's fate. What HE is asking for is, for us to be generous without expecting any reward in return. Giving ourselves completely in almsgiving, in works of mercy, without looking for compensation. Charity does not seek for repayment. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. We have to sow without yearning for immediate fruits. The Lord teaches us to give without measure, without any calculation of reward. Then we will receive in abundance.
