Almsgiving

Good gospel the other day in which Jesus says that God made the inside and outside and the way to clean the inside is to give alms.

I notice that I tend to donate perhaps less as the Spirit moves, and more as what moves me. I like e-readers, so I want the troops to have them. I like Word Among Us (rather than Magnficat) so I donate towards getting that publication to prisoners and service men and women. I used to like EWTN more than I do now, and thus donate less to them.

I feel a tiny bit responsible for the trials and miseries our soldiers are undergoing: I voted for Bush, who then of course put them in harm's way, apparently forever. Wounded Warriors and "E-readers for the Troops" get my attention.

I'm not sure giving to those causes that I most identify with should be the criteria. It's akin to those who have a rare disease and contribute to the funding towards a cure for that, despite the fact that cancer is claiming one out of every two people. Rational, other-directed charity demands we put ourselves in the shoes of others and try to help as many as we can in the way they need.