- from CatholicCulture.org
Alms are assistance, either monetary or material, given to someone in need, typically the poor among us. Almsgiving has always been a part of our Christian tradition from the earliest days. In the early Church, new members would give everything they had to the community, and it would be distributed to those in need. The first deacons, as recorded in Acts of the Apostles, were selected to help with this distribution of charity to the needy. Today, almsgiving is one of the three traditional practices of Lent. During this season, we are called to remember that the poor are always with us and, in a special way, share the gifts we have been given with them. By doing this we, in a small way, imitate the sacrifice of Christ, who gave everything for us. But we are reminded that our almsgiving should not just come from our excess, but should require actual sacrifice of things we want. Just as Jesus praised the widow who gave greatly from what little she had, we all need to examine our giving to see if we are truly making as great a sacrifice as we can. Through almsgiving, we have the chance to show how much we truly “love on another.”