Good Morning Friends & Digital Neighbors! Welcome to Supporter & Members, new & old! A few thoughts on generosity.
Give because you experience life as either a blessing or a gift. Give because you have experienced good fortune in life. Give because your gratitude or joy is overflowing. Don't give if you are going to complain, about being asked, about unworthy recipients, or about your own struggles. Give with a good heart and don't give with a clear conscience. I have said no to many needs or charities that I have discerned that I have no interest in supporting.
Few things are more tiresome than the giver who complains about their giving. I have encountered many in my flocks who hate second collections or additional collections. If you don't want to give, don't. But if you feel guilty because you could be generous but don't want to be, a boo & a whoo. I have been on that train in my younger years, it is not a pleasant ride.
Worse than a giver who complains are those soured souls who don't give and and still complain, they complain that they were even asked to consider a charity. I rarely think that some people rob of us oxygen or life, but people with this attitude come close. You are doing nothing and still bitching. Find a charity you support and move on.
I don't mind people criticizing charities or organizations, no one or no group is above question and potential criticism. Some groups I have dropped after taking the time to find out more about their organization, some groups I have dropped because my budget for giving took a hit in other quarters. Some groups I have dropped because they did not know how not to ask constantly and incessantly after being a a recipient of my charity. Even when I ask they just to contact me yearly for a donation, there are constant phone calls and solicitations. I know how difficult it can be to raise money, all parishes depend on the generosity of its members and the success of fund raisers. My sense of budget has always been simplistic - if I can afford I do it, if I can't I don't. I apply that to my personal budget and it tends to wash over to shepherding the parish. Well I have rambled enough - thanks for indulging me - on to the quote.🌞
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
