Jesus continues to teach at a banquet, this time inviting us to give to others without expecting repayment.
Mass Readings – Monday of the 31st Week of the Year
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Tag Archives: Generosity
Daily Mass: The Lord invites us to give without thought of repayment. Catholic Inspiration
Daily Mass: God’s generosity toward us. Catholic Inspiration
Jesus offers a parable to show how God’s generosity far surpasses our notion of justice. May this insight inspire us…no matter what has happened before, God welcomes us with generous grace.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 20th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: What will we offer the Lord today? Catholic Inspiration
Jesus comments on the humble yet extravagant offering of the poor widow. She gives all that she has…and inspires us to consider how we will offer our lives for the Lord today.
Mass Readings – Monday of the 34th Week of the Year
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St. Cecilia…pray for us!
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17th Sunday of the Year: An example of giving and receiving. Catholic Inspiration
Christ nourishes body and soul as he feeds the 5000 following his time teaching and healing. As the crowd’s hunger is satisfied with the Lord’s abundance, we gain spiritual insight into how we generously give and gratefully receive the blessings of life.
Mass Readings – 17th Sunday of the Year
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25th Sunday of the Year: A generous heart for the Lord. Catholic Inspiration
The parable of the generous landowner reveals a crucial insight about God and an invitation to becoming greathearted toward those around us.
Mass Readings – 25th Sunday of the Year
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25th Sunday of the Year: We call upon the Lord for a generous heart.
Study: How have I reacted in the past when someone I know has been particularly blessed or fortunate? Am I supportive or jealous?
Pray: Ask the Lord for the grace and wisdom to celebrate sincerely with others when they have received special gifts or opportunities.
Serve: How can you support others in their moments of blessing? How might you be generous with gratitude for another person’s good fortune?
Mass Readings – 25th Sunday of the Year
Consider the following possible situations and scenarios:
- Your neighbor that you have known for over twenty years has just won the lottery.
- A high school classmate that you didn’t talk to very much in school makes it big in Hollywood.
- A relative gets left a hefty sum of money from your old uncle and goes on a long trip around the world.
- A kid who used to ride your bus to school is now the executive at the company – and is your boss.
- A fellow employee in another office gets a big bonus for a successfully completed project.
- Your best friend has the opportunity to have a special audience with the Pope – through a connection with a friend in the Vatican.
All of these scenes have one thing in common: through an encounter with generosity and/or opportunity another individual benefits and possesses rewards that we do not share.
How do we react? How do our attitudes and actions change toward those who have received unexpected (and sometimes unearned) generosity? While I know that I hope that I would be good natured, polite, friendly, and supportive – a part of me echoes with the sentiments of the workers in today’s Gospel.
There is a sense of justice, a feeling that we should get what we deserve that goes against the grain of the message today. The last workers got the same wage, even though they only worked a fraction of the time. It’s not fair!
In reality, the story went beyond fairness. No worker was cheated. No worker was denied a fair and agreeable wage. The Master simply wanted to be generous out of concern and care for others.
The fact is, God is generous to all of us. There are moments when we have fallen short of the Lord’s justice through sin and temptation. Yet like the workers today, we receive God’s generosity even when we have not earned it. May we live accordingly.
Note: This blog was originally published on September 14, 2014.
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Daily Mass: Three qualities to apply as we serve the Lord. Catholic Inspiration
As the Lord empowers the Apostles for their work, he gives them some insights into how they are to do it.
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 14th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: An insight into God’s generous grace. Catholic Inspiration
The Lord’s parable about the landowner who hires workers throughout the day offers us an insight into how God continues to extend grace and mercy to us throughout our lives.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 20th Week of the Year
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Catholic Inspiration Archives
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18th Sunday of the Year: Beware of greed
Study: Are there situations in life where you find greed present? Ask yourself what is the source of this excessive hunger for more.
Pray: Call upon the Lord for the grace to use your resources wisely.
Serve: How can you be generous with your life today?
Mass Readings – 18th Sunday of the Year
The Lord cautions us to “guard against all greed” in the Gospel today, yet another reminder of the timeless power of our faith to speak to the human heart. Let’s take a moment to break down some common aspects of greed:
- Self-centered, focusing on “what I want”
- Excessive, always wanting more
- Applies to a wide variety of human wants – money, fame, power, food, etc.
Greed disregards the needs of others as the individual focuses entirely on self. Seeking more and more, it pushes other things aside in a quest to acquire. And while we often associate greed with money, the Lord’s warning against all forms of greed is apt…we can be greedy about so many things!
So what’s the cure? How do we combat greed in our lives? Here are some key ingredients:
- Gratitude – being thankful for what we have
- Contentment – seeing the blessings in our lives
- Stewardship – using wisely the resources in our care
- Generosity – sharing the gifts of life with those in need
- Prayer – fostering our relationship with God, the source of all gifts
By weaving these elements into our lives we cultivate a perspective that sees all resources as gifts from God that are to be used wisely and well. We have been richly blessed by the Lord! May we live and share our lives in such a way that Christ’s love shines through all that we do.
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Note: This post was first published on July 25, 2016.
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32nd Sunday of the Year: Giving generously. Catholic Inspiration
Two widows offer examples of giving generously in the Scriptures today. Three words – gratitude, sacrifice and expectation – can offer insight into how we can be generous as we follow the example of Jesus.
Mass Readings – 32nd Sunday of the Year
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Three Great Things 