On almsgiving
As thou art able, so help thy neighbour. If thou canst not by a wonder-working word heal the weakness of men, hearten him with a kind word and comfort the afflicted! And if thou help thy neighbour, then — O wonder! — our Lord Jesus Christ Himself will become thy servant... When thou helpest thy neighbour and intercedest for him, thou thyself takest possession of the divine treasure, the Kingdom of Christ; clothing and feeding thy neighbour, thou thyself tastest immortality and art clothed in the royal purple... St Gregory Palamas
If any Christian gives no alms, he will remain outside the Master's bridal chamber and will perish. Therefore stretch out thy hands not only towards heaven, but also to the help of the poor and the needy! St John Chrysostom
The unmerciful soul will depart from wisdom, but the merciful soul will receive wisdom from the Holy Spirit. St Isaac the Syrian
The poor man is thy door, and thou thyself art a poor man standing before the doors of God. As thou dealest with him who asks of thee, so will God deal with thee. Blessed Augustine
Thinking upon Christ, thou givest a piece of bread — and to thee is given a right to the Kingdom; thou clothest the naked in a corruptible garment — and the grace of God grants thee the incorruptible garment of righteousness; thou goest out to meet a stranger, to visit the sick or a prisoner — and with those same steps thou comest to walk at the right hand of Jesus Christ coming in glory, in the assembly blessed by the heavenly Father. If with love thou comfortest a poor man and doest him good, even a small and insignificant good, at the same time thou followest the Lord for the poor man's salvation. See how thy good done to the poor passes over into the Lord's: saved thyself by the great Saviour, thou thyself becomest an instrument of salvation, a little saviour, so to speak, for the little ones; and, if it be not too bold to say it, in a certain sense a benefactor of thy Saviour, for He said: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Metropolitan Philaret
One of the chief aims of human life should be to give joy to another, to gladden another. You too have likely felt that great joy which helping one in need gives us. At such a time joy reigns in the heart, for we feel that in exchange for the material help we gave we have gained so great a treasure that what we gave cannot even be compared with it. This is precisely that perfect joy which joins a man to God. Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia
God has given to us all mind and heart, the power to do good: to some, it is true, little, to some much; but of much much will be required, and of little, little. He gave it not that we, like that slothful servant, should hide it in a chest or in the ground, — but that, since there are many in need in the world, we should give, that we might gain something; otherwise we shall be left empty-handed when God calls us to account. This is why these words are so true: “What thou givest is thine; what thou givest not is lost.” That grace of God which from the beginning was set in every man is lost to us, if we have not made it bring forth good. Saint Ilia the Righteous (Chavchavadze)
When... thou turnest thy face away from a man, thou hast as it were turned thy face from Christ God. Jesus said: on the day of judgement I shall say to you — I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was hungry, and ye fed me not; I was naked, and ye clothed me not; I was sick, and ye visited me not. When they say to Me: Lord! where did we see Thee, that we did not help Thee? — I shall say to them: every man in need, unvisited by you, was I... Another for thee and thou for another — this is the way of life, this is the bridge of salvation, this is the key of paradise!.. Saint Ilia the Righteous (Chavchavadze)
