The Purest Form of Generosity

I recently learned that one of the sisters at the Mount was named “Generosa.” She was born in 1893 in Gundelfingen, Germany, and entered religious life in 1907. I don’t know if she was named Generosa because she already displayed the characteristic of generosity or because the community hoped she would grow into her name; perhaps the prioress just had to get creative in naming the many young women who were entering at the time. It does seem to me that anyone who devotes herself to the service of God and others at age 14 is very generous indeed. Sr. Generosa’s baptismal name was “Josepha,” in honor of St. Joseph, who himself was generous in responding to God’s call to be the earthly father of Jesus. It seems that from birth Sr. Generosa was marked to follow a path of generosity.

Today we often think of generosity in terms of sharing our money and goods with others. However, as Simone Weil notes, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” We all have an unknown allotment of time that is precious to us. Perhaps that is why we are so humbled and surprised when a person takes the time to give us his or her full attention.

Jesus modeled this generosity for us. He gave his attention to all persons who were in need, beginning with the newlyweds at the wedding feast at Cana who ran out of wine until his last moments on the cross when he comforted the thief who was dying next to him. When a young man said to Jesus, “What must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus famously told him to sell his possessions, give his money to the poor, and “follow me.” The invitation was not just to be generous in giving material wealth but to follow Jesus’ example of being attentive to others.

During her 64 years at the Mount, Sr. Generosa learned to be attentive to God through her daily prayer and to others through her work in the monastery. We too can use the tools of prayer and work to follow Jesus in practicing the purest form of generosity—offering our full attention to God and others.