On Generosity

GRACE | ID QUOD VOLO

As we begin our reflection, let us beg from the Lord the grace to grow in generosity, both in our work and in building our community.
 

REFLECTION

As Ateneans, one of the most important prayers we have learned begins with these words: “Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous.” These are words attributed to St Ignatius of Loyola, our patron saint and spiritual Father of the Society of Jesus. Those of us who have learned this prayer from our grade school days know the words by heart. But for some of us, the words may no longer move us at our core. They have become words that we mouth but not fully understand, or sometimes do not even mean.

We say “Teach me to be generous,” but we are sometimes insensitive to the needs of others. We say “Teach me to serve You as You deserve,” but we are sometimes uncharitable to our neighbor. We say, “Teach me to give and not to count the cost,” but we sometimes resort to mediocrity instead of pursuing excellence in all things.

Anthony de Mello, SJ tells this story:

A great festival was to be held in a village and each villager was asked to contribute by pouring a bottle of wine into a giant barrel. When the banquet began and the barrel was tapped what came out of it was water. One of the villagers had had this thought: ‘If I pour a bottle of water [into] that giant barrel, no one will notice the difference.’ But it hadn’t occurred to him that everyone else in the village might have the same thought.

Fr Mon Bautista, SJ in his book Schooled by the Spirit, describes generosity as the virtue that St Ignatius and his first companions really tried to live out. In fact, many of the key ideas and phrases in our Jesuit jargon are grounded on this same virtue. “Whether the term is magis (‘more’); or Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (‘for the greater glory of God’); or ‘greater service and praise’; or ‘love ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than in words’…; or ‘to go where there is greater need’… -- the never-ending challenge is to learn to be genuinely [generous] in our loving and serving the Lord in everything.”

From this, we see how generosity can really be such an overwhelmingly difficult virtue. The good thing about generosity, though, is that it begets generosity. An act of true generosity tends to ripple into other acts of generosity, acts of genuine heroism, self-sacrifice, and courage. Anthony De Mello, SJ tells us another story:

A woman in a village was surprised to find a fairly well-dressed stranger at her door asking for something to eat. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I have nothing in the house right now.’

‘Not to worry,’ said the amiable stranger. ‘I have a soup stone in this satchel of mine; if you will let me put it in a pot of boiling water I’ll make the most delicious soup in the world.  A very large pot, please.’

The woman was curious. She put the pot on the fire and whispered the secret of the soup stone to a neighbor. By the time the water began to boil all the neighbors had gathered to see the stranger and his soup stone. The stranger dropped the stone into the water then tasted a teaspoonful with relish and exclaimed, ‘Ah, delicious!  All it needs is some potatoes.’

‘I have potatoes in my kitchen,’ shouted one woman.  In a few minutes she was back with a large quantity of sliced potatoes that were thrown into the pot.  Then the stranger tasted the brew again.  ‘Excellent!’ he said.  But added wistfully, ‘If we only had some meat, this would become a tasty stew.’

Another housewife rushed home to bring some meat that the stranger accepted graciously and flung into the pot.  When he tasted the broth again he rolled his eyes heavenwards and said, ‘Ah, tasty!  If we had some vegetables it would be perfect, absolutely perfect.’

One of the neighbors rushed off home and returned with a basketful of carrots and onions.  After these had been thrown in too and the stranger tasted the mixture, he said in a voice of command, ‘Salt and sauce.’  ‘Right here,’ said the housewife.  Then came another command, ‘Bowls for everyone.’  People rushed to their homes in search of bowls.  Some even brought back bread and fruit.

Then they all sat down to a delicious meal while the stranger handed out large helpings of his incredible soup.  Everyone felt strangely happy as they laughed and talked and shared their very first common meal.  In the middle of the merriment, the stranger quietly slipped away, leaving behind the miraculous soup stone that they could use any time they wanted to make the loveliest soup in the world.

The village is our school. There are many things that can make our school great – programs, facilities, achievements. But let the greatest, most miraculous source of our greatness be its people – our community – our students, parents, teachers, counselors, staff, custodians, administrators. As Christmas approaches, let us ask ourselves: “What more can I give?” rather than “What more can I get?” And by doing so, may we always strive to be truly generous so that we too can make and share the loveliest soup in the world.

PRAYER

Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous;
Teach me to serve you as you deserve,
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labor and not to ask for reward,
Save that of knowing that I do your most holy will.
Amen.

SOURCES

De Mello, Anthony, SJ. The Prayer of the Frog. Vol. 2. Anand: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1989. Print.

Bautista, Ramon Maria Luza, SJ. Schooled by the Spirit: A Prayer Companion to Ignatian Spirituality. Quezon City, Philippines: Jesuit Communications Foundations, 2009. Print.

----