helping the needy

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.’ ”

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.

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? ¹⁸My little sons, let us not love in words only, but in works and in truth.

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?

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.

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

³¹Whoever slanders the indigent argues against his Maker. But he who has compassion on the poor honors his Maker.

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. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

⁸But if anyone has no concern for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith, and he is worse than an unbeliever.

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.

³⁵For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in;

¹⁹Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.

²⁷This is religion, clean and undefiled before God the Father: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulations, and to keep yourself immaculate, apart from this age.

¹⁷Instruct the wealthy of this age not to have a superior attitude, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who offers us everything in abundance to enjoy, ¹⁸and to do good, to become rich in good works, to donate readily, to share, ¹⁹to gather for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may obtain true life.

¹²Then he also said to the one who had invited him: “When you prepare a lunch or dinner, do not choose to call your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your wealthy neighbors, lest perhaps they might then invite you in return and repayment would made to you. ¹³But when you prepare a feast, call the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed because they do not have a way to repay you. So then, your recompense will be in the resurrection of the just.”

⁹Whoever is inclined to mercy shall be blessed, for from his bread he has given to the poor. Whoever gives gifts will acquire victory and honor. But he carries away the soul of the receiver.