{"id":412,"date":"2015-05-19T11:04:25","date_gmt":"2015-05-19T16:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/margefenelon\/?p=412"},"modified":"2015-05-20T08:24:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T13:24:14","slug":"lesson-from-a-5-year-old-what-josiah-duncan-teaches-about-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/margefenelon\/2015\/05\/lesson-from-a-5-year-old-what-josiah-duncan-teaches-about-charity\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson from a 5-year-old: What Josiah Duncan’s story teaches us about charity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"waffle-pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n

When 5-year-old Josiah Duncan noticed a ragged-looking man outside of the Prattville, Alabama Waffle House at which he and his mom were eating, he was moved to compassion. He asked his mom, Ava Faulk, about the man and she explained that he was homeless. Then she answered Josiah\u2019s questions about homelessness \u2013 a concept that was both foreign and alarming to the youngster.<\/p>\n

So, he convinced his mom to buy the homeless man a meal.<\/p>\n

You can read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What I love most about this story is that Josiah acted on the stirrings of his heart and his mother was wise enough to encourage the boy\u2019s generosity. The fact that Josiah was moved to such compassion and charity is remarkable. Even more remarkable, I think, was that his mom caught on and used the situation as a teaching moment and opportunity to foster the virtue of charity in her son.<\/p>\n

I wonder how many of us would have encouraged our own youngster to look the other way \u2013 to ignore and then forget about the homeless man. Or, how many of us on our own would have turned our heads?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ava Faulk was teaching her son about the corporal acts of mercy,\u00a0and I admire her for that.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s explained like this in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>works of mercy<\/i>\u00a0are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>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.<\/span>\u00a0Among 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)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\u2019t let skepticism cloud her son\u2019s inclination to follow our Lord.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said to them in reply, \u201cWhoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.\u201d (Lk 3:11)<\/p>\n

That life lesson is a good for Josiah as it is for us.<\/p>\n

Before the homeless man ate his meal, little Josiah offered a prayer of thanksgiving. Here\u2019s what he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cGod our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think I\u2019m going to make that one of the staples of my prayer life. For as much as I grumble about what I don\u2019t<\/em> have, I often forget to give thanks for what I\u00a0do\u00a0<\/em>have. Gratitude opens the heart to charity, and Josiah Duncan is a perfect example.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image: pixabay, CC<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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