Generosity Towards God

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21,23).

St. Paul continues, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, is what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). We are “stewards” of God's gifts (cf. 1 Pet. 4:10).

Occasionally the Church places before us the eternal truths of our faith to contemplate. All of those truths are of immediate relevance to our souls.

We're told by St. Paul our encounter with the Lord will arrive without warning, “like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). No matter how prepared we think we are for its arrival, death always takes us by surprise.

Our Lord tells us in many places that we have to spend our earthly life in such a way as to win heaven (Matt. 25:14-30).

Our Lord compares our time on earth to a long-term leasing arrangement. It will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

The owner knew the capacity of each of his servants. He didn't want to burden every one of them with the same responsibility. That would have been unjust.

He therefore gave according to each one's capability to receive. Despite the different amounts allotted to them, each servant had been entrusted with a considerable sum.

After some time had passed, the master returned from his travels and came to settle accounts with his men.

The servant with five talents produced five talents more. In like manner, the servant with two talents had doubled his share. These servants had made good use of their time to yield additional earnings.

Consequently, each one thoroughly deserved the wonderful words of praise and blessing from Our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21,23).

The meaning of the parable is crystal clear. We are the servants. The talents are the qualities God has bestowed on us—our intelligence, our ability to love, our power to make others happy, temporal goods.

The journey of the master signifies the duration of our life. His unexpected return signifies our death. The settling of accounts is our judgment. The banquet is heaven.

Our Lord frequently reminds us in the Gospels that we do not own what we have. We are stewards entrusted with God's property. A day will come when we will have to give an account of our behavior.

We could examine our whole approach to the gifts we have received from God. Do we think of ourselves as stewards? Or do we live under the illusion that we are true owners of what we possess?

We might need to reflect on our attitude towards our bodies and our senses. Do we use them to give glory to God? Do we contribute to the common good with our belongings, our professional work, our friendships?

Our Lord wants to see that His gifts have been well administered. His reward is in direct proportion to what He has already granted us. “Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required. And of him to whom men commit much, much they will demand the more” (Luke 12:48).

Those words can haunt us. It was never to be satisfied with ourselves—always, to be looking to do more, to give more, to go the extra mile, to look for opportunities, to have initiatives—because each of us has to try and render the amount that God wants us to give, to be generous with our God, with what He has given to us.

To the man who received five talents, Our Lord said, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:21). What men may see as much, God may view as little.

St. Paul tells us, “Seek the things that are above” (Col. 3:1). Don't judge by human standards. God views things in a different way. Be careful of the acclaim of men.

And so, the good servant is told, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21).

This outcome is what God sees as valuable: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, is what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

We cannot even begin to imagine what heaven will be like. St. Josemaría in The Way says, “Foster in your heart the glorious hope of heaven” (Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, Point 668).

Naturally, we want to be found vigilant when Our Lord comes. Nothing could be more important. We have to make use of the time we have to make ready. Every day is important. Every hour is important.

In our spiritual life, we can try to have one little thing in which we're trying to be better on this particular day. Our Lord has told us He will be happy to find us alert and on the watch. We hopefully will be able to tell Him, ‘Lord, I've lived my life for your glory, nothing else.’

Life is a time to serve God enthusiastically.

But we're also told about the one servant who had received one talent and he went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

He wasn't generous. He had no initiative. He thought he was playing it safe. He thought he was being clever. Ultimately, he was lazy, careless, had no foresight. Perhaps he was in love with himself.

When Our Lord asked the servant to give an accounting, all he could offer were excuses. He said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours” (Matt. 25:24-25).

Our Lord didn't like his excuses. His timidity was frowned upon. In spite of his difficulties, his capacities, and his miseries, Our Lord expected something from him. Each person has something to give.

St. John Paul has said, “This last servant represents man when he is not faithful to God. This person is overcome with fear and self-love. He attempts to justify his behavior by alluding to the purportedly unjust expectations of the master, who reaps where he has not sown” (John Paul II, Address, November 18, 1984).

But Our Lord has to reply angrily to this lazy fellow: “You wicked and slothful servant” (Matt. 25:26).

He had disregarded the essential truth, that, as one spiritual writer comments, “man was created to know, love, and serve God in this life. Then he is to see him and possess him in heaven. When God is known well, it is not hard to love him. And when God is truly loved, it's not difficult to serve him. Nor is it humiliating. In fact, it's even a pleasure to serve him.

“A person who truly loves does not even think that it's degrading and dishonorable to serve his beloved. He never feels humiliated while serving the one he loves.”

We also see that “the third servant knew his master well. At least he had had as many opportunities to know him as the other two servants had. And in spite of that, it's obvious that he did not love him. And when love is missing, serving becomes very difficult” (Federico Suarez, The Afterlife).

We can see into this servant's heart from his cold description of the master as “a hard man” (Matt. 25:24). This lazy servant did not serve his master because of an absence of love.

It's interesting to note that the opposite of laziness is diligence. The Latin root of diligence is diligere, to love, to choose after careful study. Love motivates a person to give true service.

Laziness is the result of a failure to love. Our Lord uses this parable to reprove those who either fail to develop their gifts or pervert their use for the sake of self-love.

We have to examine our conscience, our life, and our conduct. How do we use our time? Are we punctual and orderly in our work—not just sometimes, but always?

Are we always on time for everything?—manifestation of professionalism and seriousness.

When we're at home, do we give our full attention to family matters? Do we practice a lively apostolate of friendship and confidence? Are we seriously striving to extend the kingdom of God to all souls?

We know that life is short, and that's why we have to make good use of the life we have remaining to us. Scripture reminds us over and over again about the fleeting nature of our earthly existence.

The Book of Wisdom says, “The breath in our nostrils is smoke. … our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud and be scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat” (Wis. 2:2,4).

“Man is like a breath,” says the Psalms. “His days are like a passing shadow” (Ps. 144:4).

The Book of Job says, “He comes forth like a flower, and withers; he flees like a shadow, and continues not” (Job 14:2).

In the Book of James, it says, “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away” (James 1:9-10).

St. Josemaría in Friends of God says, “What a shame it would be to have as one's occupation in life that of killing time, which is a God-given treasure! … How sad not to turn to good account and obtain a real profit from the few or many talents that God has given to each man so that he may dedicate himself to the task of serving others and the whole of society!

“When a Christian kills time on this earth, he's putting himself in danger of ‘killing heaven’ for himself, that is, if through selfishness, he backs out of things and hides away and doesn't care” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 46).

If we are to make good use of our time, we need to fulfill our duties in an exemplary fashion. Making good use of our time would involve spending an afternoon caring for a sick person. It could mean helping a friend prepare for a difficult exam.

A selfish person would look down on such activities as a waste of time. But we know that selfless acts of charity can win us entry to heaven.

Making good use of our time also involves putting our head and our heart into whatever we're doing, no matter how trivial or important our activity might appear to be. We should resolve not to spend time frivolously, for example, worrying about our past life.

Nor should we fret unduly about the future. Our Lord wants us to live in the present moment, to sanctify the only bit of time that truly exists, for the past and the future exist only in the imagination.

Our Father God will grant us the grace to handle whatever trials may come our way. Our Lord Himself has given us the tender assurance: “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day” (Matt. 6:34).

When we conscientiously struggle to live the present moment to the full, then we'll find ourselves both more productive and less harried.

St. Teresa of Ávila once recalled the circumstances of her arrival in Salamanca to found a new convent. In the company of another nun named María del Sacramento, Teresa took possession of a house which had only just been vacated by some students and was a shambles.

The two nuns entered the house by night and were exhausted from their journey and the cold weather. The church bells were ringing because it was the night of All Souls. A flickering candle was their only source of light in the dark and dingy building.

The nuns gathered some straw and lay down to rest using two blankets they had borrowed. Once retired in these spartan conditions, María del Sacramento, who was overwrought with anxiety, asked Teresa, “Mother, if I died suddenly, what would you do all alone?”

“She was so much in angst that her terror communicated itself to me,” recalled the Mother Foundress. “I've always been afraid of dead bodies, even when there was somebody else with me. All this time the bells were tolling without interruption because, as I have said, it was the night of All Souls, and it was only too easy for the demon to scare us by childish fancies. Fortunately, I was dropping off with sleep.”

Then St. Teresa said to the other nun, “Sister, if that should happen, I should have to think what to do. Just now, all I want to do is sleep” (Marcelle Auclair, Saint Teresa of Avila).

We too can become overanxious about our worries and fears. We should do our best not to be troubled by future concerns, which might be completely beyond our control.

The same counsel applies to our approach to present-day difficulties. They shouldn't rob us of our peace. We could heed the advice of St. Teresa: “If that should happen, I should have to think what to do.”

We can always count on God's grace to help us on our way. We can make a resolution to sanctify everything that awaits us in His loving providence.

When life comes to an end, perhaps we may think something like a candle has gone out. But we should see death as the time when something like a tapestry has been completed.

We have watched this tapestry being made from the reverse side, where the design of the artwork is blurred and the knots and twisted loops of the needlework are prominent.

Our Father God contemplates the tapestry from the good side. He is pleased to behold a finished work that manifests a lifelong effort to make good use of time.

Throughout His preaching, and, most poignantly, through His Passion and Death, Our Lord invites us to make a pleasing offering to God the Father. The sacrificial offering was no longer to be animals or food, but an offering of one’s self.

St. Paul said to the first Christians in Rome, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1).

Each Christian should unite himself with Christ in the Holy Mass. St. Pius XII in his encyclical Mediator Dei says, “In order that the offering by which the faithful offer the divine Victim in this sacrifice to the heavenly Father may have its full effect, it is necessary that the people add something else, namely, the offering of themselves as a victim” (Pius XII, Encyclical, Mediator Dei, Point 98, November 20, 1947).

“Each should consecrate himself to the furthering of the divine glory, desiring to become as like as possible to Christ in his most grievous sufferings” (ibid., Point 99).

We can ask Our Lord for that gift of being more generous with Him. Our generous offering of ourselves is often made in the little details of each day, from our morning offering to the sacrifices we make for the sake of social harmony.

Our heart has to be open to Our Lord's call. We should always say ‘yes’ to God. Our generosity needs to be complete, without any conditions.

There's an early Christian text that says, “When a man has filled very suitable jars with good wine, and a few among those jars are left empty, then he comes to the jars, and does not look at the full jars, for he knows that they are full; but he looks at the empty, being afraid lest they have become sour. For empty jars quickly become sour, and the goodness of the wine is gone” (The Shepherd of Hermas, Texts, 5[48]:3).

The same thing can happen with souls. They can go sour. If our friendship with God is half-hearted, it will not endure. We will find ourselves increasingly alienated from Our Lord.

The Christian has to be coherent in his faith. He must give himself to God without reserve. Our Lord has to occupy the center of our thoughts and affections. We can realize this total dedication by being faithful to God in the day-to-day details of our Christian vocation.

We shouldn't hesitate to give Our Lord everything we have. We have to give ourselves completely.

St. Josemaría in Friends of God says, “Don't be taken in by the hypocrites around you when they sow doubts as to whether Our Lord has a right to ask so much of you. Instead, put yourselves obediently and unconditionally in the presence of God, like ‘clay in the potter's hands’ (Jer. 18:6), and humbly confess to him: ‘You are my God and my all’” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 167).

God has been very generous with us. There's an ancient legend that tells of a kingdom where the subjects were obliged to present a gift to the king whenever they would meet him.

One day a humble peasant found himself in the royal presence empty-handed, so he cupped a little water in his hand and made this his offering. The king was so pleased by the devotion of this peasant that he bestowed upon him a bowl full of gold coins.

Our Lord is more generous than all the kings of the earth. He has promised to reward us one hundredfold in this life and in the life to come (cf. Luke 18:28-30).

God wants us to be happy in this life. Those who follow the Lord with generosity will experience His peace and joy.

That gift is an anticipation of heaven. To have Our Lord near us is the best compensation possible. St. Teresa says, “If you but lift your eyes to heaven, thinking of him, he will repay you, never fear” (Teresa of Ávila, The Way of Perfection).

Our Lord is waiting for us to offer our work, the difficulties of daily life, our deeds of service, the gift of our time and energy to others.

John Paul II says, “It is necessary to go beyond the limits of strict justice, in imitation of the exemplary conduct of the widow who teaches us to give with generosity even that which is meant for our own needs (Luke 21:1-4).

“Above all, one must remember that God does not measure human actions by a standard which stops at the appearance of ‘how much’ is given. God measures according to the standard of the interior values of ‘how’ one places oneself at the disposition of one's neighbor. He measures according to the degree of love with which one freely dedicates oneself to the service of others” (John Paul II, Address, November 10, 1985).

Our generous offerings will be most pleasing to God if we make them through His Mother. St. Bernard recommends, “Entrust your small gift to the care of Mary. She will ensure that your offering is favorably received by Our Lord” (St. Bernard, Homily on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary).

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

JSD