Recently I received an email from a Jewish friend, which read: "I finally figured out that the rule of Gemilut Hasidim is you should always do what is right - even if others do not. Tradition holds that a Jew must give to a beggar in the street when asked. Equally important, Jewish commentary insists that a beggar or poor person be treated with dignity. There are many reasons for this, but two stand out. By performing Gemilut Hasidim, people cultivate the divine qualities within them. Also important within Judaism is the notion that anyone who suffers diminishes every member of the community."
"Brilliant!" I emailed back, and thought, "vaguely familiar." So I started reading. What I discovered upon digging deeper into this Jewish rule of 'loving kindness' was a heritage that we as Christians and Catholics draw richly upon as well.
First, we recognize God as the Master of Charity - that He sustains all creation through His acts of kindness and that as recipients of this kindness, we emulate Him when we act in a like manner to one another. If we recognize that we are totally dependent on this loving Creator, that everything we have is a gift from Him and we own nothing of ourselves, then pride and feelings of superiority are non-existant - we give, we share, with the same reckless and selfless abandon.
In Jewish philosophy: we are the middlemen, facilitating the process of delivering goods and services received from an infinite storehouse of kindness to the rightful owners - those in need. Our payment: the pleasure of experiencing a closeness to God.
In Christian philosophy, ala St Gregory the Great: "When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice." Or St Francis of Assisi: "Alms are an inheritance and a justice which is due to the poor, and which Jesus Christ has levied upon us."
A justice due - the same justice spoken of in Old Testament Proverbs: "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice" (Prov 21:3); of which Isaiah wrote: "Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow" (Isa. 1:10-17); and of what the Jews call, 'tsedakah', not a favor granted by the giver but a holy obligation, a duty to give - joyfully - with a true and rightful compassion for the recipient.
The more we have received from God," says St. John Eudes, "the more we are obliged to render to him." (See Matt 25:14-30)
Gemilut Hasidim equates giving to others with buying something for ourselves. When we give, we are 'buying' the opportunity to help another person. "Nothing makes us so prosperous in this world as to give alms" says St Francis de Sales. In a spiritual sense, we become wealthy beyond imagining; so, as my friend pointed out, we "cultivate the divine qualities" while satisfying temporal need. Wealth, therefore, exists only to provide an opportunity to alleviate the suffering of those without. "We must give alms," says St Angela Merici, "Charity wins souls and draws them to virtue." We might say, it forces the poor to place their trust in God while providing the wealthy the circumstances in which to serve Him in their fellow man. So, we treat the poor and the needy with dignity, in private (see Matt 6:2-4), so as to not bring attention to their plight, and they accept with humble thanks, from God's limitless bounty ...
Secondly, while the notion of a worldly (or other-worldly) unity with, or interdependence on, each and every member of a society is shared by many different ideologies and faiths (a Budhist friend once remarked that this belief has remarkable similarities to his understanding of nirvana!); while we all share in the dignity inherent as children created in the image and likeness of God himself - a brotherhood of man - how much more it is realized in the members of the Church He founded: "For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." (1 Cor 12:13)
St. Paul explains our belief in this fashion: "For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." (Rom 12:4-5) This bears repeating: "we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another." So, each time we act with compassion upon those in need, we build up one another - build up ourselves - as members of this same body, the Church. Jesus himself couldn't have made it much clearer when he said: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me." (Matt 25:40)
It stands to reason then that there is no such thing as an unimportant or insignificant member in the Mystical Body of Christ, right? "God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." (1 Cor:24-26)
In a metaphysical sense, there is no such thing as a 'private' sin nor a truly private act of charity. Just as every good action affects the universe positively, every bad action conversely so - in ways only God can see and measure. The Church calls this a "supernatural solidarity." (Indulgentarium Doctrina, Ch II) How may we be impacting others we don't even know by our daily thoughts, words, and actions - or inactions? How too may we be of immeasureable service to the Church Suffering and Militant when we give alms or offer up our simple daily crosses? We can be assured from Matthew's gospel (Matt 24:41-45, 16:27), that we will be held accountable for all on the day of judgement. St. John of the Cross puts it plainly: "At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity."
"No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main ... any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." Metaphysical poet, John Donne, reflected upon this oneness in death; but we as Catholics know it too in life, in eternity with the Communion of Saints, and in the love of Christ through neighbor as fellow members of His Mystical Body.
"We are all poor beggars," says St. Alphonsus Liguori, "The only hope of the poor is to ask alms from the rich. In our spiritual poverty our only recourse is to beg God, by prayer, for the graces of which we stand in need." We are taught by St. Francis and his order that there is a humble and quiet dignity in begging for the necessities of life. If we want to see true love, we look into the eyes of Lady Poverty who can in no other way return the love we share by giving alms.
Pray for the poor. Be generous - not only from our surplus, our want, but from our necessity. (See Mk 12:41-44) "For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." (Matt 6:21) Not only with our financial resources, but with our time and talents, too. God knows what's in our hearts. He knows in what spirit we give. We pray for the cardinal virtue of Prudence ("right reason in action" writes St. Thomas Aquinas); we discern genuine need and then in justice, by His grace, act upon it. "He who has compassion on the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his good deed." (Prv 19:17)
"Give to the man who begs from you," Jesus says. "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt 5:42,48) And again: "If you seek perfection, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." (Matt 19:21) So give - joyfully give - for it is not really ours to keep; and pray for those in need, place them in the loving hands of our heavenly Father: the Master of Charity.
Bill Rysavy
Holy Name Society
Archdiocese of St. Paul / Minneapolis
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