Forming Our Youth: Generosity

Forming Our Youth:
a Marriage-Building Parish Building Block

We must form young people in the beliefs and virtues necessary for healthy relationships. > Read more about this building block

As part of the Marriage Building Parish initiative, the Catholic Family Institute, with permission from Four Court Press LTD, will feature excerpts from Mr. Isaac’s book each month in the bulletin and on this blog.



Character Building: A Guide for Parents and Teachers by David Isaacs

In his book, Mr. Isaacs explores twenty-four virtues we should develop to have more “self-mastery and better serve others,” abilities we all hope our children will have.  Recognizing that the example we set leaves a more lasting impression on our children than the words we say, each chapter includes a description of a virtue and a series of questions that help assess how well you are living that virtue and how well you are helping to develop the virtue in children/students.

The first virtue discussed is Generosity.

Generosity involves unselfishly and cheerfully sacrificing for the benefit of others something that we could use for our own benefit.  We can be generous with our things( money, food, and tangible possessions).  We can also be generous with our time (listening to people, helping them with a favor or project, volunteering for a ministry or cause).  However, generosity also calls us to be willing to accept help from others and to let them be generous to us.

A truly generous person must:

• be aware of the value of that which is being given. 
• give according to the true needs of others.
• give to all and not only those he/she likes or who can repay in some way in the future.
• be motivated by the Love of God and the belief that all people are created in His Image and are deserving of help and service.
• be able to forgive those who have wronged her/him.

Answer the following questions and discuss your reflections with a spouse/friend.

Am I Generous Myself?

• Do I recognize what my talents are and put them at the service of others?  
• Do I carry out the following actions quite frequently: lend things, give things away, am available, listen to others, make reasonable demands?  Am I willing even to sacrifice the time I spend on hobbies for the good of others?
• Do I let people be generous to me?

Do I Teach Others to Be Generous?

• Do I offer the children opportunities to decide freely if they are prepared to carry out actions to help others? 
• Do I help the children discover what their reasons are for helping others?
• Do I try to find ways of helping the children overcome their tendency to want to be easy-going, and to overcome their laziness or their lack of interest, in order to start worrying about others?

Please share your thoughts and comments.