Letter 1119: Character is revealed not by what a person says but by what he does when no one is watching.
On the saying: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It seems to me that those who interpret the sacred Scriptures inaccurately both deceive themselves and others. For the saying "it is more blessed to give than to receive" is addressed not to those alone who have little but who share what they have, as those who possess divine wealth, to such a degree that they can help others. It applies to those who, possessing abundance, distribute from their riches to the needy — those battered by fortune and circumstance — and are not even noticed doing so by the recipients themselves. Nor should you be surprised if even what is given from modest means counts for no less, provided the intent behind it is right. For it is not the magnitude of the gift that matters, nor even the quantity, but rather the disposition and readiness of the giver's soul. Many are found who give little from great abundance, and conversely many who give much from what is small. Was not the widow, who gave two small coins from her poverty, set above all those who threw their contributions into the treasury? And those who had far more possessions, were they not left far behind? For God weighs the intention, not the amount; he measures the heart, not the hand.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
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Related Letters
The spiritual life is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.
Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.
1. First of all I congratulate you that our Lord God has, as we have heard, established you in the illustrious chair which you occupy without any division among His people. In the next place, I lay before your Holiness the state of affairs with us, that not only by your prayers, but with your council and aid you may help us.
Vice needs no teacher — it comes naturally to our fallen nature.