Lesson from a 5-year-old: What Josiah Duncan’s story teaches us about charity

Ava Faulk was teaching her son about the corporal acts of mercy, and I admire her for that.

It’s explained like this in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God. (CCC 2447)

Josiah Duncan gave witness to fraternal charity, and his mom helped him to follow through on it. By doing that, she not only taught him about charity, but also she taught him about not judging others. Sure, the homeless man could have been a scam artist, but Ava Faulk didn’t let skepticism cloud her son’s inclination to follow our Lord.

“He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” (Lk 3:11)

That life lesson is a good for Josiah as it is for us.

Before the homeless man ate his meal, little Josiah offered a prayer of thanksgiving. Here’s what he said:

“God our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen.”

I think I’m going to make that one of the staples of my prayer life. For as much as I grumble about what I don’t have, I often forget to give thanks for what I do have. Gratitude opens the heart to charity, and Josiah Duncan is a perfect example.

Image: pixabay, CC