Wednesday of the
Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Corinthians 9:6-11; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)
“Giving has never made anyone poor,” a fund-raising adage
touts. The saying is not meant to be
exclusively spiritual as if the only benefit one can expect for being generous is
a reward in heaven. Quite literally, it means
that people who give to the poor find themselves the beneficiaries of material
blessings. Of course, this is not an
investment strategy, but it may be more than intuition. Like the proven realities that people who go
to church earn more, have children who are more likely to do well in school,
and live longer, it may be possible to show that on the average those who
support charity find themselves soon recompensed.
It is true that St. Paul has spiritual benefits most in
mind when he writes to the Corinthians, “…whoever sows bountifully will reap
bountifully.” However, his thought for
today concludes by saying to the faithful, “You are being enriched in every way…”
As much as God inspires awe in the view of a mountain
peak or an ocean sunrise, He works wonders in everyday experience. We need not be surprised when it happens and
can almost expect it. Still it may be
presumptuous to predict how God will astound us next.
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