"A cheerful giver"

Today’s readings and Feast have a clear theme, summed up by Saint Paul (almost like a bumper sticker):

God loves a cheerful giver.

Saint Lawrence, whose Feast we celebrate today, cheerfully gave to the poor, exemplifying what Saint Paul writes of in the first reading (2 Corinthians 9:6-10) – an attitude and way of life to which we too are called:

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each must do as already determined,
without sadness or compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.

Moreover,
God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.

When the time came, Saint Lawrence also cheerfully gave his life for Christ, embodying what Christ seaks of in today’s Gospel (John 12:24-26) – an attitude and way of life to which we too are called:

Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground
and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me
must follow me,
and where I am,
there also will my servant be.