Feb 07, 2016

Prayer of St. Francis (24)

For it is in giving that we receive (2)

“No one is useless in this world
who lightens the burdens of another.”
                               Charles Dickens

The Art of Giving

The quote by Charles Dickens spells out the need to give of ourselves to those who need our help, usually just a few minutes to share our time, our precious time, with them. The act of giving morphs into the art of giving, as we practice giving over and over. We are in this cycle of physicality to become and experience something we have not experienced before, a better person who looks at themselves in a mirror and sees someone who is at peace with themselves. The purpose of life is expressed in how well we give of our self to ease the burdens of those who are brought into our path of life. No one comes into our life without a reason for our soul to move upward, no one! That may seem strange, but that is a story for another time. Just remember: What can we give to the other that will ease their passage in life a bit; that is one of our basic purposes in life.
We give of ourselves to others in order to grow in our spirit that is expressing itself today. Our worth in life, from the viewpoint of the meaning of life, is how do we give of our self to the wellbeing of the world. This does not mean that we do more than we can (remember, Jesus said “to Love your neighbor as yourself”) and we need the time and space to Love our self with the Love that lies within us. And the wellbeing does not mean to satisfy every desire of the world, but it does mean to aid in meeting the needs of the world. The pain of another, interior or exterior to the physical body, is something that we can help ease, and that is a need that is given us to ease.
What can we expect to receive? Above all, we will receive Joy. The Joy that is God’s will be given us, even if we have sorrow on seeing the pain of another. The giving that is being expressed is not only the giving of financial aid, but that may be required also, but the giving of our Being to another Being, the soul that has pain in life.

For it is in giving that we receive

When we give, we grow in out ability to receive: to receive the gift of Joy that is handed to us; but more importantly the growth in our innermost Being that is the expression of God in our life that is able to be touched from our limited physical being. It is in giving that the Face of God becomes clearer in our life; we express in our outward appearance to the world that Face of God that is our and ours alone. We are unique; and our uniqueness lies in our ability to express God in a fashion that only I, you, can express. No two in the universe, or in the multiverse if that is so, will be the same expression of God that is mine, or yours, to express.
No one, not even Jesus, expresses God like you do.
Next we will look at that expression of God that is ours; and how it opens us up uniquely to be God here and now, in this time and place.

“A kind gesture can reach a wound
that only compassion can heal.”
                            Steve Maraboli

Questions to Ponder

The giving of self to another is the gift of life to another.
How does this statement affect your reaction to others?
Do you see yourself as a giving person, and in what ways?

Meditation

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.”
If this meditation post has been helpful, I would appreciate it if you would pass it on or share it.