Uncle Luigi

The following passage from Scripture, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” got me thinking on how I could better put this into practice. I was reminded of the following incident where Jesus was comparing the generosity of the rich, who ostensibly put large gifts into the offering box, and that of a poor widow. Jesus exclaimed, “This poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:1–4). In other words, it matters little how much one gives. What matters is what one gives. If it is just a part of your income, it isn’t justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

I don't know if this is where the term, 'give until it hurts' comes from but it certainly provides a clear picture. You look at this example from a rich person's perspective and you can see how hard it is for them to comprehend how the woman who gave two copper coins gave more than their contribution of 100. To them they gave 50 times what the poor widow gave. They are caught up in the numbers.

Think back to when you were young and if you grew up in the 50's and even 60's you'll remember of how the majority of people were working stiffs; living day to day week to week. Sometimes when your mother went shopping you noticed that she didn't have enough money to pay for whatever she bought and would tell the proprietor to put it "on the tab." The store owner knew you and trusted you to pay your bill as soon as you got payed. This was their way of giving you credit.

These people that I grew up with had very little, yet they would give you their last $10 when they found someone in greater need than them. They were always willing to provide help while sacrificing their own needs and they did it quietly and sometimes anonymously. They didn't do it for self aggrandizement like many do today.

My uncle Luigi, may God rest his soul, gave me a great example of what it means to give. Growing up in Italy after WWII, people were very poor. You were lucky to have two sets of clothes, one for every day use and one that you wore only on Sundays. Luigi had a very small office in town where many came to get help in the reading, translation and filing of various documents. Many of the people he served were the poor and eldely who were also illiterate. Many could not afford to pay him for his services but they would always make restitution in some other form whether it be with a gallon of wine or maybe with some locally grown fruits and vegetables from their orchards. My uncle never refused to serve anyone. He was self taght having no more than a fifth grade education yet he could spar with the best lawyers from the area.

One day I heard him calling up to my mother. She went to the balcony to see what he wanted and I heard him tell her to throw his only other pair of pants out of the window. She asked him why. He said, "don't be so inquisitive, just do as I say." Later that day, I found out that he had given them to a man that didn't have any. He did many works of charity with very little fan fare. In fact he didn't want anyone to know because they would always tell him that he was nuts and that he needed to take care of himself. My uncle a devout Catholic, turned away from his religion in his early teens to join the Communist party. He couldn't stand the hypocrisy he found in many of the local church leaders. His family was ashamed of him for doing so, but he did more for people than the so called faithful ones in the town.

When I think of his pair of pants, I think of the abundance of clothes I have hanging in the closet and up the attic. I must have at least 10 to 20 times the amount my uncle had. Some don't even fit any more because of middle age spread. Even though I've wised up and curtailed my spending on additional clothes, I must admit that I've done a poor job of redistributing my wealth. If I have all this stuff in my house, how much does my neighbor have? How much is in my community? my state? this country?

I don't know how the country hasn't sunk from the weight of all the stuff we accumulate and continue to do so. We've been told that this is the American way. We need to spend and buy things to keep the economy growing and people working. Have you stopped to think what products we produce in this country? The 'Made in USA' bird has been on the endangered species list for about 10 yrs. If you have a sighting please let me know.

So who is benefiting from the American way of life? If you can't answer this you must be going around with blinders on, or you must be a high ranking executive in one of the major corporations, or you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

I don't mean to talk down to anyone. I put most of my thoughts on paper for my own benefit and to make me think of what I need to do to get closer to God. I need to chastise myself to make me see that I've taken the wrong fork in the road. I need to take time and thank the Lord for all I have. I need to be more like my uncle Luigi.