Today’s Office of Readings includes a homily from St. Basil the Great. He talks of being generous to the poor.
My translation of the Italian:
“Actively do the good. God will approve of you, the angels will praise you, and all men who have ever lived from the creation of the world will proclaim you blessed, you will receive eternal glory, a crown of justice, and the reign of heaven as a prize for the right use of the things of this world.
“… freely give what you possess, be generous, even overly generous, with the needy….. How much you should be grateful to the giver of all benefits for the honor that he has given you! How much you should be content to not have to beat on the doors of others, but others beating on yours!” — Basil the Great, Hom.6 on charity 3.6; PG 266-267
The honor is ours to be able to give to the poor. The poor give us this honor in their need. We owe them what they need. This is a difficult thing to live out, but something the scriptures tell us will be the basis of our judgement on the last day.
