There are many books about St. Paul: Paul, the missionary, Paul, the preacher, Paul, the theologian. There could just as easily be a book, Paul, the money raiser in chief. The early Church counted on Paul raising money among the Gentiles to care for the poor in the community. He said “this is the very thing I had been eager to do all along” (Gal. 2:10). In the second epistle to the Corinthians he talks about how important it is to give. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. For St. Paul “almsgiving” (as Jesus calls it in the Gospel) is not about charity but about justice. Since God has blessed us we, in turn, are called to bless others. We have the illusion that what’s mine is mine. What is ours is always a gift from God. Our ability to do anything, to get anything is the result of God’s gifting us with some talent that we are called to “invest” in the lives of others.
JUNE182025
By Church Staff
