The Art of Giving

A Lenten exchange

Judith Johnson O'Brien June 15, 2004 - 3:54am

Almsgiving is one of the oldest spiritual practices enjoined by all of the world’s religions, and most especially in penitential seasons. It is a spiritual discipline because it is almost always difficult to part with one’s own goods-whether coins or food, whether from surplus or from substance. Once upon a time, the outstretched hand of the widow or orphan, the begging bowl of a wandering monk, the man beaten and left...

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About the Author

Judith Johnson O’Brien is past chair of Catholic Family Center in Rochester, New York. She currently lives in Vermont.

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