The Holy Fathers on Almsgiving

Holy Fathers on Almsgiving:

In the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ that we find in the Gospel, we see that almsgiving always coincides with prayer and fasting. The main reason for this is because when we fast and pray (which is something we try to do more of right now, during the Great Lent), we must show our love for God and for all people through helping others and being generous.

While it is a virtue, almsgiving can easily turn into quite the contrary. That happens when we are boastful about our generosity:

“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:1-4)


Do we really love God and our neighbour if/when we don’t help people, especially the poor and the needy? Obviously that is not the case. Here is a passage from the first Epistle of John that reaffirms this:

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17)

Giving alms was seen as a great virtue even in the Old Testament. In the Law of Moses we read, “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)


What does it mean to give alms today? Do we have to give away all of our money and possessions to the poor? Not really. Giving alms simply means being generous and sharing or helping others in any other way.

If there’s a poor person begging for money to buy food or clothes, we should buy it for them or give them some money. Right now there are so many homeless people begging on the streets of big cities!

But what if we don’t see any homeless, poor, naked or hungry person to help? We must help any person who needs it, whether they are poor or not. For example, if your friend feels lonely and down, giving up your time to talk to them and cheering them up is a great way to give alms!

People around you may need your love, your attention, your assistance or just your prayer. This is how you can help your neighbour and serve Christ every single day.

So whether you give money, clothes, foods, drinks or even just your time to talk to someone in need is a very good deed.

All the Church Fathers and many of the Saints agreed that almsgiving is something every Christian must do on the path to salvation:

“The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.”

“Whereas we receive benefactions from God every minute, we ourselves don’t benefactor (give alms) even once (to) our neighbour.”

“God considers His own self constantly obligated for whatever charities you do to your fellow men.”
(St. Basil the Great)

“Through the cheap price of doing good to men, we can acquire the priceless Kingdom of God.”
(St. Philaret of Moscow)


“A good deed is a miracle that makes two hearts happy.”
(St. Nikolai Velimirovich)


“Send your treasures to the heavenly storage room. Deposit your wealth in God’s Bank, distributing it to the poor, the orphans and the widows, so that you can receive a million times more in the Second coming of Christ.”
(St. Joseph the Hesychast)


"Our church walls sparkle with gold, which also glitters upon our ceilings-while the capitals of our pillars are lavishly decorated. The holy vessels are beaten out of costly elements and precious stones. Yet Christ is dying at our doors in the person of His poor, naked and hungry."
(St. Jerome)


“A man is not saved by having once shown mercy to someone, although, if he scorns someone but once, he merits eternal fire. For 'hungered' and 'thirsty' is said not of one occasion, not of one day, but of the whole life. In the same way 'ye gave me meat', 'ye gave me drink', 'ye clothed me', and so on, does not indicate one incident, but a constant attitude to everyone. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that He Himself accepts such mercy from His slaves (in the person of the needy).”

“If a man has one day provided for all the bodily needs of the poor, but, being able to do so on the next day, neglects some of his brethren and leaves them to die of hunger, thirst and cold - then he has neglected and left to die Him Who said: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
(St. Sophrony of Essex)

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