A Lesson on Giving

A Lesson on Giving

There was once a good man who owned a grocery store. One day, another grocery opened in front of his. It was direct competition. The man knew that once the other grocery opened, he was going to lose business. It gave him so much worries. He did not like the idea of the grocery opening in font of his nor did he like the owner of it. He felt threatened and miserable.

He sought his parish priest and asked for a piece of advice.

His parish priest said, ” You know what will take you out of your misery? Start blessing the other person. Pray for his success and his entire family’s good health. Just start blessing him.”

The advice confused the man.

He could not understand, what his parish priest was trying to say. He found it difficult to pray for the other person –the very same one who might put him out of business, soon. But still, he did as he was told. He started blessing and praying for the other person.

A year later, the parish priest came back to the community. He was then approached by the man, who asked for his advice. The man brought the priest to the same place where his grocery was. To the priest’s delight, he found out that where the grocery once stood, was now a big department store.

The man then said to the priest, “Father, I now perfectly understood the advice you gave me. I prayed for the other person and started blessing him. I prayed to God to give him success in his ventures and that his family may have good health, always. And I realized “ we receive what we give.”

I started giving out blessings and I, of course, received blessings.”

This was the homily last Monday, on giving and receiving.

This was the homily of my favorite priest, Father Sanjay, at The Shrine of Our Lady at Lourdes. He is one priest whose daily masses I love hearing, partly because of his homilies.

Father Sanjay ended his homily by saying, “For what we give away, we receive in return.”

He also said that If we start cursing others, we would surely get cursed one way or the other.

If we pray for other people’s downfall, we surely fail in our undertakings. Refrain from wishing ill on others. In prayer and in our dealings with others, “let us start blessing others.”

Ash Wednesday had just passed by -signifying the beginning of Lent.

Let us bless and pray for those who give us problems. Pray for their abundance and good health. Pray for their triumph and prosperity. We will surely get these in return.

And this is what it truly means, ” to give and receive”.