Meditations

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Acts 4:32-35

“Then, as you know, believers sold their possessions and brought the prices of them and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: a symbolic act designed to show that people must trample on covetousness.”

Jerome (347-420), One of the Four Doctors of the Western Church, Translator of the Latin Vulgate. Letter 71.4. ACCS.V.

“Whatever belongs to God belongs to all by our appropriation of it, nor it anyone kept from his benefits and gift, nor does anything prevent the whole human race from equally enjoying God’s goodness and generosity.”

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (c. 218-249), in Works and Almsgiving 25. (ACCS.V. Acts.57).

Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. Proverbs 11:28

“He who does not think of the future because he is longing for present goods will finally be lacking in both. But they who do good deeds in the present for the hope of future rewards will justly receive that for which they hope.”

The Venerable Bede (672-735), a monk at the Northumbrian Monastery, in Commentary on Proverbs 2.11.28. (ACCS.IX.PESOS-87).

“The confidence shown by the faithful toward the future does not lie in their own power but in God’s generosity.”

Cassiodorus (490-585) Historian, Statesman, Monk as recounted in Ancient Christian Commentary on 2 Timothy (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000) 264.

“When you give, give generously, with a joyous countenance, and give more than you are asked for…Do not separate the rich from the poor or try to discriminate the worthy from the unworthy, but let all persons be equal in your eyes for a good deed.”

Isaac of Nineveh (c. 700), Bishop of Nineveh and Monk, Ascetical Homilies 4. (ACCS.IX.PESOS-274).

“But you, dearly beloved, who have believed the promises of the Lord with your whole heart, flee the foul leprosy of avarice and make a holy and wise use of God’s gifts. Since you enjoy His generosity, take care that you may be able to have companions of your joy.

The things that are supplied to you are lacking to many, and in their need the material has been given to you for imitating the divine goodness, so that through you the divine goodness might pass over to others. As you give out your temporal goods well, you are acquiring eternal.”

Leo the Great (c. 400-461), Doctor of the Church, excerpt from Sermon 17.3-4. (ACCS.P1-50.117).

“Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits which thou hast given to me,
For all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend, and brother,
May I know thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
And follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.”

This prayer is ascribed to St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253) also known as Richard de Wych, Bishop of Chichester.

The Latin he recited on his deathbed as recorded by his confessor, Ralph Bocking (below) can be found in Acta Sanctorum, an encyclopedia of Christian saints, which is housed in the British Library:

Gratias tibi ego, Domine Jesu Christe, de omnibus beneficiis, quae mihi
praestitisti; pro poenis et opprobis, quae pro me pertulisti; propter quae plactus ille lamentablis vere tibim competebat.

Some believe the triplet “clearly, dearly, nearly” was added later. That aspect of this prayer was made popular in the modern era in Godspell (1971) when it was adapted for the song “Day by Day.”

“Christ himself … says in Luke 6:35, “Lend, expecting nothing in return.” That is, you should lend freely, and take your chances on getting it back or not. If it comes back, take it; if it does not, it is a gift. According to the gospel there is thus only one distinction between giving and lending, namely, a gift is not taken back, while a loan is taken back—if it is returned—but involves the risk that it may become a gift. He who lends expecting to get back something more or something better than he has loaned is nothing but an open and condemned usurer, since even those who in lending demand or expect to get back exactly what they lend, and take no chances on whether they get it back or not, are not acting in a Christian way.”

Martin Luther Selected Writings of Martin Luther 1529-1546 ed. Theodore G. Tappert (Fortress Press, 1967) 97.

“Live within your income, and…do not refuse to dip your hand into your pocket to satisfy a generous impulse, or to help in the mutual enjoyment of yourself and your friends, because you think you will be the richer for keeping your money…

Of your natural gifts you can never give enough…If you are not generous to your employers and to your friends and family, they will not be generous to you. They will reward you, too, in a grudging spirit.

Man, who is made in the likeness of his Creator, should give greatly of his own gifts, rendering back to the Great Bestower the munificence that is given in trust…

No money can buy gratitude and love and true friendship. These are the things that inevitably come from real generosity, and each one of us, within the limits of our own minds and purses, can be generous…”

Keith J. Thomas Personal Power (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1914) 157-159.

“Paying of debts is, next to the grace of God, the best means in the world to deliver you from a thousand temptations to sin and vanity. Pay your debts, and you will not have wherewithal to purchase a costly toy or a pernicious pleasure; pay your debts, and you will not have what to lose to a gamester. In short, pay your debts and you will of necessity abstain from many indulgences that war against the spirit, bring you into captivity to sin, and cannot fail to end in your utter destruction, both of soul and body.”

Patrick Delany (1686-1768) Irish Theologian, as recounted in Days Collacon (New York: International Printing and Publishing Office, 1884) 166.