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Charity in context
This month, as we celebrate the 4th anniversary of the Pondo ng Pinoy (PnP) movement, it is inspiring to see that, out of collected 25-centavo coins from countless donors or supporters, the movement’s funds are now approaching a P200-million mark, or an average of P50 million a year, significant enough to rebuild lives that were destroyed by destitution and yielded to hopelessness. The funds represent a composite gesture of benevolence and a collective act of love, joy-driven and mission-inspired. Yes, with PnP, where contributions, measured in separate sums or individual values, are meaningless or marginal, the giver cannot boast of a grand act or claim credit to a personal philanthropic contribution. Giving becomes a habit, almost an instinctual act that solicits no applause from those who see, or creates a sense of personal vainglory. Participants to the project keep no accounting of their shares, as they give out so the way they discard something of a scrap that commands no value in the commercial market. Such a disposal, and the disposition to the act, unproclaimed and almost impersonal, incidentally assumes a manner of deference to an important Gospel reminder on matter of giving: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your alms may be done in secret” (Mt. 6:3-4). In fact, by the sheer constancy of the act, the PnP participants actually contribute amounts large enough in the long run, a measure which, if done in a one-time act, becomes susceptible to media gaze, with the giver puffed up in pride and popular plaudits. On this note, and as a way of wrapping up, let me quote what the Holy Father said in one of his recent messages relative to this theme: “If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real wellbeing of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision. In inviting us to consider almsgiving with a more profound gaze that transcends the purely material dimension, Scripture teaches us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving. When we do things out of love, we express the truth of our being; indeed, wehave been created not for ourselves but for God and our brothers and sisters. Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction, and joy.”
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In our country whose population is predominantly Christian, the call to help the poor, especially those who suffer abandonment, is particularly urgent. As the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, pointed out, to come to the aid of the poor is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity. Indeed, the presence or preponderance of the poor in our society, far from serving as social eyesore or human nuisance, offers a vast mission opportunity or charity environment for the every well-hearted and caring Christian who is thereby called upon to the rescue of his destitute or dying countrymen.
