Lesson from a 5-year-old: What Josiah Duncan’s story teaches us about charity

Last updated on: May 20, 2015 at 8:24 am by Marge Fenelon

Lesson from a 5-year-old: What Josiah Duncan’s story teaches us about charity 2015-05-20T08:24:14-05:00 Marge Fenelon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Ava Faulk was teaching her son about the corporal acts of mercy, and I admire her for that.

It’s explained like this in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God. (CCC 2447)

Josiah Duncan gave witness to fraternal charity, and his mom helped him to follow through on it. By doing that, she not only taught him about charity, but also she taught him about not judging others. Sure, the homeless man could have been a scam artist, but Ava Faulk didn’t let skepticism cloud her son’s inclination to follow our Lord.

“He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” (Lk 3:11)

That life lesson is a good for Josiah as it is for us.

Before the homeless man ate his meal, little Josiah offered a prayer of thanksgiving. Here’s what he said:

“God our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen.”

I think I’m going to make that one of the staples of my prayer life. For as much as I grumble about what I don’t have, I often forget to give thanks for what I do have. Gratitude opens the heart to charity, and Josiah Duncan is a perfect example.

Image: pixabay, CC

Previous Post

May 16, 2015

Three Life-Giving Facts about Prayer

Next Post

May 21, 2015 WiFi could make you sick - what one mom did about it UPDATED

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Blessed Virgin Mary Book Basket Catholic Church Christmas Creation Crisis Management CRS Rice Bowl Current Affairs Eucharist Faith Family Life Forgiveness Friendship God the Father God's Grace Health Holidays Holocaust Holy Days Holy Land Holy See Holy Week Jordan Lent Media Motherhood New Year Parenthood Persecution Pets Pilgrimages Pope Francis Prayer Pro-Life Saints Scripture Seasons of Life Spirituality Suffering Technology Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the first plague in Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Water turned to blood Darkness Locusts Boils