The Generosity Multiplier

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | May 27, 2024

The Blessed Trinity is the first mystery of our faith but the last revealed in time. God is three Persons in One. The Father is the Creator (Genesis). Jesus is the Redeemer (Gospels). And the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier (Pentecost). The mystery is the foundation of all generosity and gratitude. The Blessed Trinity is infinitely perfect in unity and love.

The Preface of the feast day Mass (abridged here) defines the dogma: The Father, Only Begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God, one Lord, not in the unity of a single person, but a Trinity of one substance. As we confess the true and eternal Godhead, we adore what is proper to each Person, their unity in substance, and equality in majesty.

If you prefer, St. Patrick’s Shamrock will do. But let’s not overlook the practical significance of the dogma.

The perfect love and unity of the Trinity is not like a family closed in on itself behind iron fences. God is generous. He sends forth His Spirit and renews the face of the earth. Creation glorifies God but cannot add to His perfection because God is not dependent upon His handiwork. Creation remains a mystery. But God expresses and multiplies His love in creation and awakens our grateful response to His generosity.

Jesus is the splendor of the Father and reveals the meaning of authentic generosity. Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead, and forgives sins. He fed saints and sinners alike during the miraculous multiplication of the loaves. He healed the ten lepers without exacting an expression of gratitude. The Sacrifice of the Cross crowns His selfless generosity: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn. 15:13)

Generosity is holiness, the Trinitarian imprint on every human heart. (Even an atheist violates his belief system and admires a soldier who risks his life for his buddies.) We grow in holiness by stirring our inclination to emulate God’s generous love, following the example of Jesus. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy complement the Ten Commandments and provide the remedy for our annoying and self-absorbed pity parties:

• Feed the hungry.
• Give drink to the thirsty.
• Clothe the naked.
• Shelter the homeless.
• Visit those in prison.
• Comfort the sick.
• Bury the dead.

The spiritual works require courage and clarity of thought:

• Admonish sinners.
• Instruct the uninformed.
• Counsel the doubtful.
• Comfort the sorrowful.
• Be patient with those in error.
• Forgive offenses.
• Pray for the living and the dead.

Gratitude acknowledges generosity and our dependence on others. A wise child is grateful for his parents. Even a king, although sovereign, depends upon and appreciates the loyalty of his subjects. We are thankful for our forefathers.

Jesus praises gratitude. When He cured the ten lepers, only one returned to give thanks. Jesus asked the man: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” Jesus responds to gratitude with more generosity: “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Lk. 17:17-19)

Jesus, in His Divinity, has eternal sovereignty and does not depend upon us. However, in His humanity, He undoubtedly expressed thanks to Mary and Joseph. He must have been grateful for His many friendships—and even the alms collected by Judas.

However, the evangelists seem to limit their documentation of explicit expressions of Jesus’ gratitude to thanking the heavenly Father. In His humanity, Jesus was dependent upon the Father: “Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6-7)

His thanksgiving is Eucharistic as He mediates the Father’s love. Before the miraculous multiplication of the loaves, “He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples.” (Mt. 15:36) At the Last Supper: “He took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you.’” (Lk. 22:19)

Gratitude is essential to families and societies. The virtue expresses the holy appreciation of gifts and interrelationships of mutual generosity. But ingratitude has become an ugly hallmark of a Godless secular culture. Gratitude is impossible under the diversity-equity-inclusion mandated religion because “equity” does not admit to humble dependence on others. Equity demands compensation, by force if necessary. The spirit of entitlement and envy crowds out gratitude and distorts generosity.

The malignant influence of Godless secularism affects all of us. Ungrateful demands for entitlements are accompanied by disproportionate complaining about real or imagined injustices. In the West, we live in the 99th percentile of comfort in the history of the world. Yet, we implicitly—or arrogantly—assume we deserve all we receive, so there is no need to express thanks. Need scientific data? The enormous national debt threatening our economy is a barometer of our collective ingratitude.

Challenging but simple spiritual practices help us confront and break the patterns of ingratitude. God gives us our daily bread. Overcome self-conscious reluctance and pray before meals. Be polite. Use and teach the “magic” words of gratitude: please and thank you. (Baby Boomers may remember the slogan of Captain Kangaroo!) Be kind and avoid rudeness. Have babies under the usual Catholic conditions. Relax and gaze with joy and appreciation at the sky, clouds, and the amber waves of grain.

The reasons for gratitude abound throughout the Sacred Liturgy. Jesus saves us from our sins and opens the gates of heaven. He gives us Himself in Holy Communion as food for the journey. Easter Season concludes with Pentecost, lavishing God’s generous grace upon us, followed by the feast of the Holy Trinity (the source of selfless generosity) and Corpus Christi (the celebration of Eucharistic thanksgiving).

The Mass concludes with the priest blessing us with the Sign of the Cross and sending us forth to live the Gospel in generosity. Gratitude multiplies generosity.