Humble charity
Reflection
My dear brothers and sisters, true charity can only be made in humility.
Throughout my college years and into my early professional life, I was very active in doing charitable work. I was part of the Rotaract Club—the youth arm of the Rotary Club—an international socio-civic organization. I was also a social and political activist, engaging with those who are often most exploited and forgotten in our society: the urban poor, the indigenous peoples, farmers, jeepney and tricycle drivers, informal settlers.
We did feeding programs and basic literacy in dumpsites, organized medical and dental missions, helped with operation tuli, and even built houses through Habitat for Humanity and the Jimmy Carter Foundation. I can honestly say that those experiences gave me a deep sense of purpose and mission. They helped shape my view of the world and my role in it.
That kind of formation teaches you that life isn't just about you. It built in me a sense of responsibility for others—especially those whose voices are rarely heard.
For me, it became clear: if the people around me are struggling just to eat three times a day, how can I, in good conscience, indulge in lavish meals or live a life of excess? I often think—if one meal costs thousands of pesos, how many families could that feed for a week? How many children could go to school with that?
But in today’s readings, the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are reminded that Christian charity is not just about what we do—it’s about why and how we do it. And this is where humility becomes essential.
In our Gospel from Luke 14, Jesus is invited to dine at the house of a Pharisee. He notices two things: first, that the guests are scrambling to take the seats of honor; and second, that the host invited only people who could repay him—other important and influential individuals.
Jesus responds with two lessons. First, don’t exalt yourself. Take the lowest place and let someone else call you up higher. And second, when you give a feast, don’t invite only your friends or the wealthy. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind—those who cannot repay you. Then your reward will be great in heaven.
What Jesus is telling us is radically different from how the world usually works.
In the world, people give in order to receive. Politicians throw parties for contractors, not out of generosity, but to secure deals and favors. Corruption thrives where generosity is faked—used as a tool for selfish gain. Even in our communities, we can fall into this: giving not out of love, but out of expectation, pride, or image management.
But Jesus calls us to a deeper kind of giving: one that flows not from status or self-interest, but from a heart transformed by grace.
You see, true Christian charity is not just a social program. It is a theological virtue—a gift from God that allows us to love others as He loves us. As the Catechism teaches, "Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God." (CCC 1822)
That means our acts of service and generosity must flow not only from our sense of justice or empathy—but from our communion with Jesus Christ, who is Love Himself.
And this is where humility becomes indispensable.
Because to love like God, we must first admit that we are not the source of that love. We serve not because we are better, or more generous, or more socially aware—but because God first loved us. All that we are, and all that we give, is possible only through grace.
If we do good without humility, our charity becomes performance.
If we serve without prayer, we risk making it about ourselves.
But if we kneel before Christ, if we recognize that we are poor before God, then we can serve others—not as benefactors looking down—but as brothers and sisters walking together in hope.
And so today, my dear brothers and sisters, let us pray..
That we may have hearts shaped not by pride or prestige, but by humility and love.
That we may rediscover the joy of serving those who cannot repay us—not for recognition, but because that is where Christ is.
That we may hunger less for status and more for holiness.
And above all, that our charity may always reflect the One who gave everything for us—Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself, became poor for our sake, and now invites us to do the same.
Let this be our prayer.
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
'Give your place to this man,'
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
'My friend, move up to a higher position.'
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Then he said to the host who invited him,
"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
My dear brothers and sisters, true charity can only be made in humility.
Throughout my college years and into my early professional life, I was very active in doing charitable work. I was part of the Rotaract Club—the youth arm of the Rotary Club—an international socio-civic organization. I was also a social and political activist, engaging with those who are often most exploited and forgotten in our society: the urban poor, the indigenous peoples, farmers, jeepney and tricycle drivers, informal settlers.
We did feeding programs and basic literacy in dumpsites, organized medical and dental missions, helped with operation tuli, and even built houses through Habitat for Humanity and the Jimmy Carter Foundation. I can honestly say that those experiences gave me a deep sense of purpose and mission. They helped shape my view of the world and my role in it.
That kind of formation teaches you that life isn't just about you. It built in me a sense of responsibility for others—especially those whose voices are rarely heard.
For me, it became clear: if the people around me are struggling just to eat three times a day, how can I, in good conscience, indulge in lavish meals or live a life of excess? I often think—if one meal costs thousands of pesos, how many families could that feed for a week? How many children could go to school with that?
But in today’s readings, the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are reminded that Christian charity is not just about what we do—it’s about why and how we do it. And this is where humility becomes essential.
In our Gospel from Luke 14, Jesus is invited to dine at the house of a Pharisee. He notices two things: first, that the guests are scrambling to take the seats of honor; and second, that the host invited only people who could repay him—other important and influential individuals.
Jesus responds with two lessons. First, don’t exalt yourself. Take the lowest place and let someone else call you up higher. And second, when you give a feast, don’t invite only your friends or the wealthy. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind—those who cannot repay you. Then your reward will be great in heaven.
What Jesus is telling us is radically different from how the world usually works.
In the world, people give in order to receive. Politicians throw parties for contractors, not out of generosity, but to secure deals and favors. Corruption thrives where generosity is faked—used as a tool for selfish gain. Even in our communities, we can fall into this: giving not out of love, but out of expectation, pride, or image management.
But Jesus calls us to a deeper kind of giving: one that flows not from status or self-interest, but from a heart transformed by grace.
You see, true Christian charity is not just a social program. It is a theological virtue—a gift from God that allows us to love others as He loves us. As the Catechism teaches, "Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God." (CCC 1822)
That means our acts of service and generosity must flow not only from our sense of justice or empathy—but from our communion with Jesus Christ, who is Love Himself.
And this is where humility becomes indispensable.
Because to love like God, we must first admit that we are not the source of that love. We serve not because we are better, or more generous, or more socially aware—but because God first loved us. All that we are, and all that we give, is possible only through grace.
If we do good without humility, our charity becomes performance.
If we serve without prayer, we risk making it about ourselves.
But if we kneel before Christ, if we recognize that we are poor before God, then we can serve others—not as benefactors looking down—but as brothers and sisters walking together in hope.
And so today, my dear brothers and sisters, let us pray..
That we may have hearts shaped not by pride or prestige, but by humility and love.
That we may rediscover the joy of serving those who cannot repay us—not for recognition, but because that is where Christ is.
That we may hunger less for status and more for holiness.
And above all, that our charity may always reflect the One who gave everything for us—Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself, became poor for our sake, and now invites us to do the same.
Let this be our prayer.
Photo by Sovannkiry Sim on Unsplash
Comments
Post a Comment