Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them: "Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Honor and proclaim God's deeds, and do not be slack in praising him. A king's secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known. Praise them with due honor. Do good, and evil will not find its way to you. Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
When good things happen to us, our first response should not be to congratulate ourselves, but to thank God. After all, every good thing comes from Him. He is the Source, the Center, and the Summit of all that is good and holy. We should never slack in praising God or His deeds. In a similar vein, we should do everything we can to be people of almsgiving. Almsgiving is one of the many ways we can imitate Christ and reflect God’s Divine Image into the world. It is though our acts of charity and mercy that we bring God into the lives of others and leave them better off. So let us make sure we are not only prayerful and fasting, but almsgivers, too.
Do we thank God for all He has done for us? Do we recognize Him as the Source of all our goods? How can we better imitate Him through our almsgiving?
O Lord, make us gracious almsgivers.
Amen.
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