charity

³⁵I have revealed all things to you, because by laboring in this way, it is necessary to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

¹⁶But do not be willing to forget good works and fellowship. For God is deserving of such sacrifices.

¹“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven. ²Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

¹⁷Whoever is merciful to the poor lends to the Lord. And he will repay him for his efforts.

¹⁷Whoever possesses the goods of this world, and sees his brother to be in need, and yet closes his heart to him: in what way does the love of God abide in him?

¹And looking around, he saw the wealthy putting their donations into the offertory. ²Then he also saw a certain widow, a pauper, putting in two small brass coins. ³And he said: “Truly, I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴For all these, out of their abundance, have added to the gifts for God. But she, out of what she needed, has put in all that she had to live on.”

⁷each one giving, just as he has determined in his heart, neither out of sadness, nor out of obligation. For God loves a cheerful giver.

³³Sell what you possess, and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that will not wear out, a treasure that will not fall short, in heaven, where no thief approaches, and no moth corrupts.

³⁸Give, and it will be given to you: a good measure, pressed down and shaken together and overflowing, they will place upon your lap. Certainly, the same measure that you use to measure out, will be used to measure back to you again.”

¹If I were to speak in the language of men, or of Angels, yet not have charity, I would be like a clanging bell or a crashing cymbal. ²And if I have prophecy, and learn every mystery, and obtain all knowledge, and possess all faith, so that I could move mountains, yet not have charity, then I am nothing. ³And if I distribute all my goods in order to feed the poor, and if I hand over my body to be burned, yet not have charity, it offers me nothing. ⁴Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated. ⁵Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil. ⁶Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth.

²And do not be willing to forget hospitality. For by it, certain persons, without realizing it, have received Angels as guests.

⁴²Whoever asks of you, give to him. And if anyone would borrow from you, do not turn away from him.

⁷If one of your brothers, who dwells within the gates of your city, in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, falls into poverty, you shall not harden your heart, nor tighten your hand. ⁸Instead, you shall open your hand to the poor, and you shall lend to him whatever you perceive him to need. ⁹Take care, lest perhaps an impious thought might creep within you, and you might say in your heart: ‘The seventh year of remission approaches.’ And so you might turn your eyes away from your poor brother, unwilling to lend to him what he has asked. If so, then he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it will be a sin for you. ¹⁰Instead, you shall give to him. Neither shall you do anything craftily while assisting him in his needs, so that the Lord your God may bless you, at all times and in all things to which you will put your hand. ¹¹The poor will not be absent from the land of your habitation. For this reason, I instruct you to open your hand to your indigent and poor brother, who lives among you in the land.

¹³But for now, these three continue: faith, hope, and charity. And the greatest of these is charity.

¹³Whoever blocks his ears to the outcry of the poor shall also cry out himself, and he will not be heeded.