"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." (Luke 6:38)
Generosity is the fruit of love and at the same time the generator of love. This virtue means we give of ourselves and we do so without calculating what it might cost us to do so. Someone who is generous is not hindered by selfishness and therefore is capable of giving themselves to the service of others and to God.
To become generous:
-forget yourself
-forget your own plans, ideas, interests, convenience
-forget your own rights
-forget your pain and weariness
To become generous:
-learn to do all with your whole heart
-do your duty
-do what will give glory to God
"To love is to give everything. It is to give oneself."
(St. Therese's poem: "Why I Love you, O Mary!")
Always be more disposed toward giving to others than giving to yourself, and thus you will not be envious of or selfish toward your neighbor. This is to be understood from the viewpoint of perfection, for God is angered with those who do not give precedence to his good pleasure over that of humans.
(COUNSELS TO A RELIGIOUS ON HOW TO REACH PERFECTION by St. John of the Cross)
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