Generosity

My dad was a generous man.  I remember when I would ask him for money to go to a movie, which back then was under five dollars. He would give me a ten-dollar bill and say, “Buy yourself some ice cream.”

He was generous in his compassion. He cared about people. When he and my mom would travel, if there were women travelling in their group without a partner, he made sure they were never alone. He included them at meals and on tours.

He was generous with his forgiveness. He was quick to move on from the teenage follies of my brother, like when he let a friend drive the family car and he crashed it.

He was generous with his time. He worked hard to provide my three siblings and me with a comfortable home, quality education, and a lasting faith life. I was blessed from early on with a good example of what it means to be generous.

My dad knew how to celebrate generously too. From the almost weekly Saturday evening get-togethers with my aunts and uncles and cousins to the Luau (always a luau, see picture) themed block parties and anniversary parties, my dad gave it his all. He loved to see people having fun.

Too often we only associate generosity with monetary giving. There are so many other ways we are called to be generous.

The priest at mass today gave a homily on generosity. In it he said, “Be generous in all that God is.” Think about that. All that God is?

I started to make a list.

God is: kind, merciful, forgiving, caring, loving, wise, tender, faithful, truth, available, aware, involved, and good just to name a few of His attributes.

So we are to be generous in our kindness, mercy, forgiveness, care, love, wisdom, faithfulness, availability, awareness, involvement, tenderness, and goodness just to name a few. Good food for thought.

I’ve been thinking a lot about generosity ever since the Firstfruits Anniversary celebration a couple weeks ago. We are still receiving cards in the mail, offers of help and promises of prayer. It’s amazing.

One amazing supporter of Firstfruits is Jamie O’Donoghue who owns O’Donoghues Irish Pub in Elm Grove. He has generously provided us with abundant and delicious food for our events the past two years. To show our appreciation to Jamie and to have an excuse to gather Firstfruits friends more than just once a year, we will begin something new starting next month.

Come and join us for Firstfruits Tuesdays at O’Donaghues. The third Tuesday of each month we will meet for dinner at O’Donaghues located at 13225 Watertown Plank Rd. in Elm Grove at 6:00pm.

The dates for the rest of 2019 are:

• • October 15
  • November 19
  • December 17

No need to register, just show up if you can. Bring friends! Children welcome.

Everyone always says how much I am like my mother. I’m beginning to think there’s a bit more of my dear old dad in me than I thought. I am really looking forward to these monthly get togethers. Hope to see you all there. Grass skirt and coconut bra, optional!

Joan