Caritas – the friendship of man for God which unites us to God
Wikipedia: Caritas, Liberalitas, Generosity, and Charity
Liberalitas – the virtue of giving freely, hence, generosity
Generosity – largess; involves offering time, assets, or talents to aid someone in need
Charity – the voluntary giving of help to those in need as a humanitarian act
Edit (08 Nov): originally, liberalitas was identified as the Latin for the relevant virtue; in my research, caritas has surfaced as the proper term, so I will be correcting this by adding a segment within this post specific to caritas. The information on charity was in the original post; liberalitas and generosity will stay in the series but will be demoted to their proper place. Stay tuned!
What is Liberalitas?
Liberalitas is a Latin term which most closely translates to generosity. Biblically, it’s typically referenced specifically to speak about generosity of spirit, a subcategory more reflecting the charitable side of the term. (Generosity can be used to promote a donor whereas charity is done in quasi-secret – in a way which neither advertises the donor nor allows the inquisitor to know who the donor is.)
Generosity – the quality of being kind and generous
Oxford Dictionary
Okay, But What Is Generosity?
Generosity of spirit is the openness and willingness to share our own gifts freely with others, joyously and willingly and without expectation of receiving anything in return.
Gayle Hardie, Global Leadership Foundation
We all have gifts readily available. It may be obvious that the wealthy person sitting next to you has something to share with the world, but you have gifts, too! Maybe you have an afternoon available each week you can spend at the soup kitchen, or maybe you have a skill with tutoring young children who are hostile to authority figures, or maybe you’re an artist involved in a local group who has a bazaar every year selling donations to patrons and you can provide a painting, sculture, or recorded single. Maybe you’re a sommelier with a friend at a local vineyard and you can combine to offer a service for free as a prize for a raffle that benefits a cause.
Generosity is doing something for someone else. Some may part with money, others may part with time, still others may easily and quickly part with a smile: they can all be acts of generosity if done with a loving heart. With an attitude of gratitude, we can more clearly see both the impact of what others do for us and the impact of what we do for others, enabling us to multiply our own generosity simply and humbly.
Nothing… is more costly than greed; nothing is more rewarding than generosity.
Donald DeMarco, Author and Professor
Relevant Story of the Day
I had the honor of attending a friend’s wedding in Albuquerque. I’d never been to New Mexico, so I made a run of it to make opportunity to visit the sights and get to know the area. I flew out but didn’t rent a car, depending on public transportation and my own two feet. (Thankfully, I enjoy walking… I have a story about walking in heels for a few hours because a bus opted to not stop for me. …What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.)
The one place the buses don’t go? The biggest tourist destination in the area: the Sandia Peak Tramway. I was staying downtown, so it took a fair amount of time and effort to get out there, but I was told it would make the entire trip worth it. I set aside a full day to trek out to the Tramway: a fifteen minute walk to Alvarado Transit Center, twenty minutes figuring out which bus to get on, and one-and-a-half hours for the bus trip to the coffee shop where I’d wait about twenty-five minutes for a car for a twelve-minute ride to the launch point. I expected approximately the same for the return trip.
The tram ride was kinda cool – the views of hiking without worrying about breaking your ankles on the climb – but the top panorama was gorgeous. Even better than the view? The people I met.
In particular, I remember one person struggling to take a picture of herself with the sunset; though traveling alone, she hadn’t mastered the art of the selfie, and she was trying to do it old school: aim the main camera at herself and hope she was in the frame. I offered to take her picture so she knew she’d be in the frame and with the proper lighting. She was delighted. She was even more delighted when I offered her a lesson in selfie-taking after and showed her how to use the secondary camera to see on her main screen that she was in the photo.
It was a super exciting night for both of us beyond the pink skies: we each learned things (her: how to take a selfie; me: that I have something to teach the world, and the world appreciates it; both: it’s easy to make friends on the tops of mountains).
The view was wonderful – and renowned. There is only one tramway, and hiking is not a viable option after sunset. Sunset on the peak is a major attraction, and I didn’t mind waiting for a later car while she was in a hurry to get down and eat something as she’d been traveling all day and hadn’t had a decent meal, so we parted ways, she taking the first tram after the sunset and me taking the final trip down of the night.
As we reached the bottom of the tramway, I pulled out my phone to double-check the bus schedule only to realize the bus had stopped running: I was either going to have to walk 22 miles to my AirBnB (probably arriving just in time to catch my scheduled ride to the airport) or go significantly over-budget to catch a car back. (I misread the bus schedule.) Disembarking, I opted against getting dinner, instead walking around the complex – a little hungry but knowing I would probably be using that money to get back to my luggage. I was simultaneously hopeful and frustrated, checking fares to see whether waiting (and walking) a mile or three would be better. I dithered as I meandered about the complex, being my best tourist (taking pictures) while I mentally beat myself up for not checking my work. I could walk the 22 miles – it’d take me about seven hours, and I could do it – and be just in time to toss my stuff into my suitcase for my scheduled trip to the airport, expecting a day of exhaustion. But was it worth the $35 for the ride?
With a sigh, I brought up my phone to work out a plan. Given my unemployment, yes – it’s economically worth it to hike. Bringing up the map, I set my chin resolutely, nodding at myself and at my stubbornness.
“Hey!”
The friend I made at the peak found me. Having had dinner (thus no longer starved and more enthusiastic), she was eager to hang out. We started chatting, and she mentioned that she was driving cross-country to teach dance. Epic! We got to talking about how we each ended up in Albuquerque, and she noticed I had a (walk) map up on my phone. (I, embarrassed, attempted to hide it, thinking the screen should have dimmed by then.) She was eager to return the favor of helping her with pictures, and, seeing the hesitation in my eyes, also noted that she was staying in the downtown area. I both reluctantly and delightedly accepted.
Something about me: I’m bad at both requesting and accepting help. I was doing-backflips-overjoyed, but I was still resistant to accepting help. She thought of it as nothing: everything was in that direction – including her hotel – so it wasn’t even out of the way for her; I thought of it as so much more: a trusting act of kindness enabling me to get a full night’s sleep and not have to endure an entire night’s walk and fight crankiness the entire next day. (Sidenote: the ride was awesome. We enjoyed each other’s company thoroughly, exchanged contact information, and hugged so hard that I didn’t want to leave at the end.)
We still text (albeit haphazardly). She’s forever the person who reminds me to love people generally – because of her generosity.
You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:11
Closing Statement
What do you think? What has been your experience in generosity? Let me know in the comments! I hope to hear from you soon!
Further Reading
- Interesting article on liberalitas and its philosophical journey starting with the Roman republic:
The Decline and Rehabilitation of a Virtue. - Paper from the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University:
Generosity of Spirit by Douglas V. Henry
