Bountifulness, Beneficence, Bigheartedness

November 25, 2025

Bountifulness, Beneficence, Bigheartedness

 Hello! How is each and every one?  Last Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King. He wants to reign over the whole of our life. He should reign, first of all, in our hearts.  He should reign in our life, because everything about it should be a witness to love.  With our mistakes!  Don’t let mistakes worry you; I make them too.  With our weaknesses! As long as we struggle, they don’t matter.  Didn’t the saints now on the altars also make mistakes?  But mistakes that fall within our human condition. The kind of mistakes at which our Lord must smile:  Playing before him at all times, playing all over the world, Scripture says.  That’s how I often see myself before our Lord [St. Josemaria, Med 1.4, Solemnity of Christ the King (1)]

I now recall the anecdote about Alexander the Great and the beggar.  I searched for the anecdote but it did not seem the same as I remember.  What I remember is yes, that a beggar approached Alexander the Great asking for alms and Alexander gave him lands to own and uttered ‘you ask according to your needs; I give according to my capacity’.

Whenever somebody approaches my father to borrow an amount of money, I observed that he would not lend but give a certain amount and say, “Tangagapin mo ito; hindi mo na kailangang bayaran”.  Receive this amount and you don’t need to pay it back.’  My father did not believe in borrowing and lending. Hence he never owed anybody an amount neither has he any amount to expect as payment from anyone for a loan.

What about the above inspiration of snack packs as occasional presents?  The inspiration came about while I was dwelling on the words of a friend, ‘anu ba naman magbigay ka sa kanila on special occasions as Christmas, a token of appreciation; such as biscuits, candies, chocolates, etc. for the children.

Several years ago I had that inspiration to make a gift pack that contains possible food items to snack on by a couple with her family or friends. The snack pack contained as much as the package could accommodate.  These are different kinds of biscuits, coffee, chocolate, nuts, different kinds of candies.

Some of them expressed their appreciation for the snack pack.  Ester said, “Ate, tuwang tuwa ako dun sa snack pack na binigay mo.  Ang daming surprises sa loob at kita mo talagang pinag-isispang mabuti kung ano ang pwedeng pagsaluhan ng pamilya.

The above anecdotes are distinct manifestations of the superhabit of munificence according to the different intentions and levels or circumstances of the persons involved.

   How to provide a munificent gift

·         Consider the recipient's needs: Instead of simply giving what you have, consider what the person truly needs.

·         Be mindful of your attitude: Your attitude can influence your giving. A sense of appreciation for those you are helping can make you feel better about giving, and your actions can inspire them to be more giving in the future.

·         Be intentional with your generosity: A gift does not have to be monetary. Munificence can be expressed through a gesture of kindness, such as a helping hand or a listening ear. 

 

Following now is the superhabit of munificence related to Courage. It deals with challenges that can be overcome (From SUPERHABITS, The Universal System for a Successful Life by Andrew V. Abela, PH.D., Dean, Busch School of Business, The Catholic University of America, 2024)

Munificence

Munificence is the superhabit of being willing to spend large sums of your own money in order to achieve a great good, or to solve a great problem.  It is different from Generosity.  Generosity is also a superhabit, but it is related to the superhabit of Justice, which we’ll discuss in chapter 13.

Because Munificence involves large sums of money, it is the only superhabit that cannot be cultivated by everyone.  You need to already be wealthy to cultivate it, because giving away someone else’s money is not a virtue.

Munificence is appropriately associated with Courage:  ironically, the more money you have, the more you usually fear its absence.  Studies on loss aversion (where the pain of a financial loss weighs more than the pleasure of an equivalent financial gain) conclude that wealthier people are more loss averse. Giving away large portions of your wealth takes Courage.  But like the rest of the superhabits, it comes with host of benefits.

Research on individuals who donate money to others found that they experienced increases in psychological well-being and happiness.  Other research on giving money and social support showed that they are associated with better overall physical and psychological health in adults. Still other research showed that individuals who donated or gifted money to others were more likely to be less stressed and happier in the future.  Giving away large sums of money is good for you.

Interestingly, giving doesn’t seem to suffer from diminishing marginal utility, where each additional unit gives you a smaller increase in pleasure (for example, eating a third donut doesn’t give you the same joy as eating the first).  Donating the same amount repeatedly does appear to provide the same psychological benefits each time.

Like every other superhabit, Munificence is developed through practice.  I have two good friends, a lovely couple, who made a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars.  They have decided to give it all away to support K-12 education.  They cultivated the superhabit of Munificence by starting to give away significant sums of money early, before they accumulated significant wealth.

To reiterate

Munificence is the virtue of using wealth to accomplish something great and noble, especially for the common good. It is a virtue primarily for those with significant financial resources, distinct from simple liberality which deals with ordinary sums. Key aspects include spending on grand, fitting projects like public buildings, festivals, or philanthropy, with the goal of a high-minded, admirable outcome, rather than for personal gain or petty reasons. 

Core meaning

Expenditure on a grand scale: Munificence involves large-scale expenditures, unlike the virtue of liberality, which applies to ordinary amounts of money.

Focus on the common good: The expenditure is for common affairs or public benefit, not for private, personal gain.

Purposeful and fitting: The expenditure must be appropriate to the occasion and the goal. It is about doing "great things for the right reasons and on the right scale," according to Aristotle. 

If and when we follow the news all over the world, and we hear of some persons fitting into this category of munificence, may you and I remember to take the initiative and whisper to the Creator the right intention for His glory and honor that these persons must be doing so. At the same time we thank God that there are persons who practice munificence.  On the other hand let us pray for all the others who do the not have heart to experience the good and the intelligence to grasp the truth of what these persons are doing on behalf of the Creator for the whole world.  These persons who practice munificence are instruments of the Creator.  They are given whatever it takes to carry out His will for the whole of His Creation and His  creatures.  This is part of the sentiments of Jesus Christ, when He gave His life on the Cross for each one of us.  He gave up His life out of love for you and me, for each one of us that we may be redeemed from sin and then be happy with Him in His Kingdom after life on earth.  He wants each one of us to be saved and be happy. He did His part, He gave up His life and He is still doing His part.  And you and I need to do our part of the deal, to live our life according to His will, according to His commandments and sacraments.  Although God created you and me without asking our permission, He will not save you and me without our wanting it, that is, without doing our part of living according to His teachings, the sacraments in His Church.

Obviously you and I need to bring the above topic in our conversation with Him during the quiet moments of prayer.  Let us open our hearts wide and listen to what He says intently and do as He tells us to do.

See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us together again.”

Affectionately

Guadalupinky