Who needs charity? As we live our daily lives, we encounter people of different backgrounds and needs. Our primary charity recipients are people experiencing poverty, orphans, and those unable to improve their living conditions, but we also help those seeking compassion and understanding for their troubles. “Your smile for your brother is a charity. Your removal of stones, thorns, or bones from the paths of people is a charity. Your guidance of a lost person is a charity.” (Bukhari). Charity is an automatic expression of our love for our neighbors as we love ourselves, thereby fulfilling the second greatest commandment of God.
What if the charity challenge requires loving our neighbors more than ourselves? Is our willingness to sacrifice a question? Do we hesitate to extend compassion to others if our comfort and benefits are at risk? Can we afford to sell our possessions to distribute them to others? Can we forgo enjoying a meal so that others can eat? The life of Mother Teresa is one concrete example of charity. After her encounter with God, she was invited to be the light of the underprivileged by dispelling darkness and bringing joy to those neglected by the world. Truly, as exemplified by her compassion and love for people experiencing poverty in the slums of Calcutta, she became a light to the world. The Scriptures guided her: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father blesses; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the world’s creation. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'” She has kept in mind that whatever she has done for the least of her brothers or sisters, she has done it to God.
Gautama Buddha encourages us to fill our minds with compassion; sacrifice will inevitably result. Give until it feels beneficial. By doing so, we store for ourselves treasures that moth and rust cannot destroy. Treasures in life, such as peace, joy, and fulfillment.ย
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- Declutter our closets and give away those extra sneakers and those clean shirts and jeans you have to let go, then find a shelter for distribution. Resolve to share your blessings, especially with those in need.
- Be a source of strength for the weak and discouraged, a warm shoulder for the grieving, and an ear for the unheard. Give them your time as a form of charity.
- Sign up for a cause. What advocacy or advocacies resonate with us and are accessible for participation?
- Initiate or organize corporate activities that will encourage others to practice charity and compassion.โ
Values Restoration Officer: Mrs. Josephine L. Amor
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