The Anchoress
According to this Reuters report, church attendance is up in the financial districts. I’m not surprised, are you?
Something I was thinking about yesterday, at Adoration, is how God is never outdone in generosity, whether material or social or spiritual. Because of the economic unease we’re all facing, I was frankly thinking of the material – hanging on to jobs, my son finding a job, how we’ll pay for home heating oil this winter, affording college for Buster – and I remembered that my husband and I have always believed it and found it to be true: when we give from our own need, it never goes unrewarded. Our puny efforts at charity, particularly in hard times, always bring a return.
I remember when I had moved to NYC and was looking for work. I was down to my last money – I had a $20.00 and a $5.00 on me. I was headed to an employment agency – with little hope, as I was unskilled and not much of a typist – and I passed by two nuns who were seeking alms for their work. I was moved by what they wanted to do, and the plight of those they served and – being very young – I also had complete trust that if I gave them my money, I’d still be okay. I sensibly kept the five, and gave them the twenty, and asked them to say a prayer for my intention, which they agreed to.
Then I walked into the employment agency and found a job that was perfect for me, one that involved coming up with and writing procedures. It didn’t pay a lot – I rose from the “unemployed poor” class to the “working poor” class, and it was still a struggle to get by, but it was a job, with medical benefits. I had “what I needed.”
We forget, sometimes, that if we trust – really, just trust (that’s harder to do, and less simple, than it sounds) we will receive “what we need.” We may not get a penny more than that. But we will see our needs met, and perhaps part of what we “need” is to learn how to manage ourselves on less, how to cultivate thrift, how to resist the urge for immediate gratification. How to save, and to work toward goals. How to be patient. We are not very patient, anymore. We don’t like to wait for what we want.
Our society has been very spoiled and “me” oriented for a while, now. Everyone buys themselves whatever they want, when they want it, and – because of the easy credit (which helped get us into this mess) and our addiction to it – we have forgotten how to wait, how to practice that “old-fashioned” Catholic virtue of self-denial.
This weekend, at a family gathering, we discussed what a nightmare Christmas shopping has become, both because of the materialistic emphasis, but also the difficulty in choosing gifts. Everyone “has” everything. I can’t give my teenage nieces anything they care about when their grandmother is buying them overpriced designer handbags and jewelry from Tiffany. One auntie said, “it used to be, if you really wanted something, you’d wait for your birthday or for Christmas, or you’d scrimp and save for it, and then it would mean something to you. Now, everyone buys themselves whatever they want, and nothing is special, anymore.”
Auntie is no crank. I thought she was spot-on. A sister-in-law piped in, “I’m giving all the teenagers money this year, it’s what they want, and it is easy and I can stay within budget!”
I thought about that at Adoration and considered that for Christmas, this year, I am going to hold to my idea of buying our gifts from monasteries and houses of prayer, who sell soaps and lotions, candies, breads, incredible coffees – small, unglamorous but exceptionally well-made things – I’m going to do that because I want to get back to the idea that our Christmas gifts began as small things meant to symbolize the Gift that is Christ, not absurd, costly things that clutter and noise-up our lives.
And I want to support prayerful people; we need their prayers. We need their houses to survive. And perhaps my nieces and nephews need to be exposed to the idea of “humble” gifts that benefit others, and to the idea that there are women and men in the world who actually choose to eschew the designer bags and highlighted hair and shiny cars, who choose get by on much less, and to pray for others as they do so. I want them to reflect – even briefly – on that lifechoice; one that embraces material poverty in order to be free and uncluttered enough to pray for the rest of us in our rank spiritual poverty.
I’m going to remind them of what I remembered at Adoration: God is never outdone in generosity, but you need to be generous yourself, if you want Him to outdo you. Even in these frightening times – perhaps especially in frightening, vulnerable-feeling economic times – it is important to be generous to others – particularly to the charities and the churches. You get it back. You always get it back.
Speaking of which – and wholly by co-incidence – I received an email concerning the St. Vincent de Paul Friends of the Poor Walk. St. Vincents is comparable to the Salvation Army in its good works. It might be a good idea to send a little something; you never know when you will be one of the poor they walk for.
If you needed any more proof that material things are empty and that worldy regard is all tinsel and illusion, read this unreadable piffle by Katie Couric, who gets paid 15 million dollars a year. If there is money to be made in blogging, I’m not seeing it, but if I had the choice between being rich-but-mediocre, (with no impetus to do better) or having “what I need” and I’d still rather have “just what I need” and keep striving to write well and sensibly, thanks.
On the secular front:
I watched a little of the hearings today with Congress and Paulson, and I came away convinced that no one has “the answer.” There needs to be oversight and accountability, and some regulation, too…but it all needs to be balanced. And the impression I get, still, as serious as this situation is, that Washington is not interested in balance. It still wants power and partisanship. And if you’re feeling afraid and weak, well, it is Padre Pio’s feastday – this no-nonsense fella will buck you up.
Instapundit has a roundup of opinion on the bailout. Fausta also has a good one.
Gingrich: calls the Paulson plan “stupid”. He says “kill it; kill it to death!”
Reid blackmails: Do what we want or we’ll do nothing and ruin the country. So…once again, we can’t count on these idiots to actually serve us. They only serve their hunger for power and more power. Even a crisis this large could not bring about balance and bi-partisanship. Disgusting crew. The whole boiling of them ought ot be ousted.
ABC reports that angry grim Republicans will go for Paulson plan. They’re mad that they weren’t warned about this mess. Excuse me, your president warned you in 2003. McCain warned you in 2005. You did nothing. The Dems did nothing. The giddy public didn’t care as long as the credit flowed.
UPDATE: Doug Ross has the history of the financial crisis in pictures.
Geez…let’s get back to the Catholic stuff….
Deacon Greg has excerpts from this article on the gift of money, which is often abused in the same way that the gift of sex is abused.
Many in our society view money as a “necessary evil.” Instead, entrepreneur and author, Frank Hanna explains, “money is a gift from God that is frequently abused because of our lack of understanding of its proper use.” Based on ancient teachings and his own personal experiences, Hanna clearly lays out the meaning of money in his new book, What Your Money Means and How to Use It Well.”
I have no wisdom about economic stuff, so I just say, prayer has power, and we should pray that our clueless leadership (and they truly seem clueless, if you’re watching) be granted wisdom and guidance. LOTS of wisdom. LOTS of guidance.
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