Generosity

As March slips in like a lamb this year, the people of Wales celebrate St. David's Day with flags and foods, and a bright shining sun beams in the heavens, these "signs" remind us of the positive side of life and the abundant generosity of God which inspired St. Marcellin and informed our Marist Spirituality with the goal to be lavishly generous with our time, talent, and, when possible, our treasure. In the Book of Sirach, we read, "In a generous spirit pay homage to the Lord,/ and show a cheerful countenance,/ and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy. Give to the Most High as he has given to you,/ generously, according to your means. "For the Lord is one who always repays,/ and he will give back sevenfold." (Sir 35: 7-10)
How reassuring is this passage, how encouraging, how inspiring! Not that we give to get back, but if we have followed this path, we have been taught over and over again, as St. Francis prayed, "it is in giving that we receive." Let us not be locked in by our possessions, or our own will, as "the rich young man" whose plight was to walk away sad. The generous heart will never be sad.
Bro. Rene