Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the three pillars of Lent.

Prayer and fasting are always mentioned first, while almsgiving remains in the wings. But it is more important than you realize.

“When you give alms,” says Our Lord, “do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:2-4).

So what is almsgiving? Why is it important? And what effects does it have on us?

“The duty to give alms is as ancient as the Bible,” Pope Francis reminded us in 2016. “Sacrifice and almsgiving were two duties that a devout person had to comply with.”

That has not been rescinded over the centuries. According to the Catechism (2447):

The [corporal and spiritual] works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. … 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.

Almsgiving in the Scriptures

Almsgiving plays a big role in the Book of Tobit, where Tobit gives his son Tobias this fatherly advice:

Give alms from your possessions, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it. Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor, and the face of God will not be turned away from you. If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have. So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity.  For almsgiving delivers from death and keeps you from going into the Darkness. Indeed, almsgiving, for all who practice it, is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High. … Give some of your food to the hungry, and some of your clothing to the naked. Give all your surplus as alms, and do not let your eye begrudge your giving of alms (4-11, 16).

Then the Archangel St. Raphael tells both father and son:

Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness. … It is better to give alms than to lay up gold. For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life” (Tobit 12:8-9). 

In his explanation of almsgiving, St. Cyprian writes that Raphael “reveals” that “our petitions are made efficacious by almsgiving; that by almsgiving life is redeemed from dangers; that by almsgiving souls are freed from death.”

And Jesus tells the Pharisees, “So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you” (Luke 11:4).

As the St. Paul Center explains:

Why is almsgiving better than prayer and fasting? Because it is prayer, and it involves fasting. Almsgiving is a form of prayer because it is “giving to God” — and not mere philanthropy. It is a form of fasting because it demands sacrificial giving — not just giving something, but giving up something, giving till it hurts.

Alms and almsgiving are also mentioned several times in Sirach:

• “Do not grow weary when you pray; do not neglect to give alms” (7:10).
• “Almsgiving atones for sin” (3:30).
• “Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from every disaster” (29:12).
• “Kindness is like a garden of blessings, and almsgiving endures forever” (40:17).
• “Kindred and helpers are for a time of trouble, but almsgiving rescues better than either” (40:24).

St. Paul counseled us to remember “the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35) and “God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Benedict XVI: ‘Draw Close to Others Through Almsgiving’

In a 2008 message for Lent, Benedict XVI reminded us that material riches can attract us, but we must decide “not to make of them an idol” because “Jesus confirms in a resolute way: ‘You cannot serve God and mammon’” (Luke 16:13). Benedict explained:

Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. This is the aim of the special collections in favor of the poor, which are promoted during Lent in many parts of the world. … In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church.

Benedict also reminded:

Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self. In the face of the multitudes, who, lacking everything, suffer hunger, the words of St. John acquire the tone of a ringing rebuke: ‘How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?’ (1 John 3:17). … In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater.

Benedict further explained:

Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy. Our Father in heaven rewards our almsgiving with his joy.

That joy comes when we do not imitate the Pharisees looking for praise for giving alms, as Jesus told us. Benedict reminded, “Jesus’ passion and death, who, as Saint Paul writes, made himself poor to enrich us out of his poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9); He gave his entire self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow his example.”

“By drawing close to others through almsgiving,” Benedict declares, “we draw close to God,”

Pope Francis: ‘No One Is More Generous Than God’

Pope Francis highlighted Deuteronomy 15:10 in his teaching about almsgiving:

‘You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him.’ This means, first of all, that charity requires an attitude of inner joy. Offering mercy cannot be a burden or an annoyance from which to free ourselves in haste. How many people justify their not giving alms by saying: ‘What kind of person is this? If I give him something perhaps he will go buy wine.  … And you, what do you do in secret, that no one sees? Yet you judge that poor man who asks you for a coin for a glass of wine?

So almsgiving must go on beyond Lent:

“How I would like almsgiving to become a genuine style of life for each of us! For this reason, I echo Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to take up a collection for the community of Jerusalem as something from which they themselves would benefit (2 Corinthians 8:10). This is all the more fitting during the Lenten season, when many groups take up collections to assist Churches and peoples in need. Yet I would also hope that, even in our daily encounters with those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God himself.

“When we give alms, we share in God’s providential care for each of his children,” he concluded. “If through me God helps someone today, will he not tomorrow provide for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God.”

Venerable Fulton Sheen: ‘Throw Bread on the Water’

It’s a reminder of Venerable Fulton Sheen’s limitless (and little-known) generosity and almsgiving. In My Uncle, Fulton Sheen, his niece Joan Sheen Cunningham recalled, “My uncle's generous reputation preceded him, and often people came right up to him on the street and asked him for money. He never refused them, even when I suspected that they weren't being honest about their needs and were taking advantage of my uncle.”

Sometimes she asked, “What if that person's not telling the truth?”

“His reply was always the same: ‘I can't take that chance.’”

“My father, too, was worried that my uncle gave away too much of his money and possessions,” Joan added. “But my uncle believed in the spiritual rewards for generosity. ‘Throw bread on the water,’ he would tell my father, ‘and it comes back angel cake.’”