ny charitable institution connected with the Church. The Holy Land
was divided among the tribes of Israel, who were the descendants of the
twelve sons of Jacob. Now, one of these twelve tribes was made up
entirely of priests and persons who served in the temple of God, called
Levites. They received none of the land, but were to be supported by the
other eleven tribes. All the people were obliged by the law to give what
they called first-fruits, and tithes--that is, one tenth of their income
in goods or money each year to the temple for its support and the
support of those who served it. In the New Law no definite amount is
assigned, but every Christian is left free to give what he can to God's
Church according to his generosity. But if God left you free, should you
therefore be stingy with Him? Moreover, all that we have comes from God,
and should we return Him the least and the worst? For every alms you
give for God's sake He can send you a hundred blessings; and what you
refuse to give to His Church or poor He can take from you in a thousand
ways, by sending misfortunes. We read in the Bible (Gen. 4) that Adam's
sons, Cain and Abel, both offered sacrifice to God. Abel's sacrifice was
pleasing, but Cain's was not. Why? Because, as we are told, Cain did not
offer to God the best he had, but likely the worst; or at least, he
offered his sacrifice with a bad disposition. Then when he saw that his
brother's sacrifice was pleasing to God, being filled with jealousy, he
killed him; and in punishment God marked him and condemned him to be a
wanderer on the face of the earth. We are told he was always afraid of
being killed by everyone he saw. See, then, what comes of being
unwilling to be generous with God. What we give Him He does not need,
but by giving, we worship and thank Him. Do not people in the world
often give presents to those who have done them a favor, that they may
thus show their gratitude? Now, God is always doing us favors, and why
should we not show our gratitude to Him by giving generously in His
honor? When we give to the orphans, etc., we give to Him; for He says:
"Whatsoever you give to these little ones you give to Me." Again, when
Our Lord tells what will happen on the Day of Judgment (Matt. 25:31,
etc.), He says, the Judge will divide all the people of the world into
two bodies; the good He will place on His right hand and the wicked on
His left. Then He will praise the good for what they did and welcome