FEAST OF SAINT SIMON STOCK – 16th MAY
May 16, 2024
MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 16TH MAY
May 16, 2024
16 May, 2024
One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. – Proverbs 11: 24
Lord our God, you have given us the sufficiency of your grace, the sustenance we need to survive, an earth rich with the bounty of fruits and all things required for our livelihood and good living and most of all, the generosity of your indwelling Spirit, enriching us with Spiritual assistance and growth. We thank you Lord, for the abundance of your blessings and all that you supply us, according to the riches of your glory in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Those who are generous and give without expectations often see their kindness repaid, especially in hard times. But those who are tight-fisted or miserly, frequently find themselves ignored during a crisis. Spiritually, you reward those who recognize the ownership of all things and commit to using material resources to help others. Especially in medieval times when survival was more closely related to one’s successful neighbors, it was crucial that the established have the generosity of spirit to give freely to their hapless fellowmen.
A good giver is appreciated by you Lord, and you reward them with much more, for you know that it will not stay with them, but will be distributed to the poor and needy. A rich harvest is essential to prosperity. However, your instructions that the reaper of a farm or a vineyard reap only according to his needs and leave the remaining for the poor and for the homeless wanderer, who are the have-nots, teaches that we are responsible for our neighbors’ well-being. For the measure that we sow will be the measure that we reap. May we live to give generously, in Jesus’ Name, to receive the fruits of our works. Amen
