Two works
of mercy set a man free: forgive and you will be forgiven, and give and you
will receive.
When we
pray we are all beggars before God: we stand before the great householder bowed
down and weeping, hoping to be given something; and that something is God
himself.
What does a
poor man beg from you? Bread. What do you beg from God? – Christ, who said: “I
am the living bread which came down from heaven”.
Do you
really want to be forgiven? Then forgive. Do you hope to receive something? Then
give to another. And if you want your prayer fly up to God, give it two wings,
fasting and almsgiving.
But look
carefully as what you do: don’t think it is enough to fast if it is only
penance for sin, and does not benefit someone else. You deprive yourself of something, but to
whom do you give what you do without?
Fast in
such a way that you rejoice to see that dinner eaten by another; not grumbling and looking gloomy, giving because the beggar wearies you rather
than because you are feeding the hungry.
If you are
sad when you give alms, you lose both bread and merit, because “God love a
cheerful giver”.
