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Author Topic:   Perfect Charity (a short dialogue)
Heart--Shaped Cross
Knowflake

Posts: 115
From:
Registered: Nov 2010

posted April 13, 2013 04:14 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Heart--Shaped Cross     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Three characters are speaking:
A Merchant, A Servant, and A Beggar


Merchant: The poor man is spared the duty of charity. Only the wealthy man can practice this virtue to the fullest extent. For, to have little is difficult, but, to have a great deal, and to choose to have little -- now that's hard!

Servant: There is sense in what you say, -- or, at least, the appearance of sense; which is a kind of sense, in itself. But, I must respectfully disagree. No person feels so acutely the burden of charity as the man who has little. For, no matter how little a man has, he may always choose to have less. And choosing to have less than a little is a far greater sacrifice than to give up a great deal while still retaining a little for oneself.

Beggar: You speak truly. And, yet, you have not said all.

Servant: Tell me, wherein is my wisdom incomplete?

Beggar: While it is true that the man who retains less has made the greater sacrifice, regardless of the amount he has given up, surely, the man of God is not he who has given up more or less, but, he who has given up all. Whether you cling to a fortune or a pittance, your hand is closed. But, whether he gives away a fortune or a pittance, the man of God ends in that absolute poverty which, alone, means utter dependence on God.

Merchant and Servant: You have said it.

------------------
Vision without action is a dream.
Action without vision is a nightmare.
~ Japanese Proverb

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jellyfishtry
Newflake

Posts: 22
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2013

posted April 13, 2013 01:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jellyfishtry     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very beautiful thank you for sharing this.

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Heart--Shaped Cross
Knowflake

Posts: 115
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Registered: Nov 2010

posted April 14, 2013 03:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Heart--Shaped Cross     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks! You're welcome!

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Heart--Shaped Cross
Knowflake

Posts: 115
From:
Registered: Nov 2010

posted April 14, 2013 03:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Heart--Shaped Cross     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The soul can cling to a pin, as easily as to a treasure; the rich man will cling to his castle, and the poor man to his pot. For this reason, the true saints have abandoned everything for the sake of God. True poverty, such as was practiced by the Desert Fathers and Mothers, is to abandon all things, even God, for the sake of God. It is the Lord's will, that we cling to nothing, not even to His Word, in order that we may partake of the true and perfect freedom which is His.

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