More Blessed to Give

As Marists, our family spirit is at the heart of all we do. This little story illustrates the giving aspect of family. Two brothers, one single and the other married with a large family owned and worked a large farm. They shared the bounty and profits from the farm equally, half and half. In thinking about this arrangement, the unmarried brother concluded that being unmarried, he needed less to live on than his married brother and his family. He decided to make up a large "care package" of items he thought his brother's family could use, and leave it unannounced on his porch during the night. The married brother also thought about the arrangement and decided to cheer up his brother, whom he assumed to be lonely, with preserves, homemade bread and other items which would "warm his heart and his home." He determined to deliver his gift during the night and leave it on his brother's porch so he would find it in the morning. That night, each brother left his house and made his way to his brother's house. In the dark, they bumped into each other, and confessing what they were doing, they hugged and broke down in tears, each realizing that his greatest wealth was a brother who respected and loved him.
What a beautiful lesson in the"brotherly love" of Marist family spirit!
"In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, 'It is is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35)