The virtue of the month for Conquest and Challenge in July is generosity. It’s a great virtue for the summer because in the summer you tend to spend more time with family on vacation and you have more time on your hands because you are not in school. These two facts create wonderful opportunities to be more generous at home and in your community. We can also be more generous with God in the summer, trying to give him our time in prayer or going to mass more often than Sundays.
Generosity is a virtue where you give of your self or your things without looking for anything in return. The funny thing about generosity is that it comes from the heart so it is not how big the gift is that matters, but rather the value it has to the person who gave it. Generosity does not need to be in money or things. You can be generous with your time or attention too and sometimes that is harder. Generosity is definitely a Christian virtue because Christ lived it. He was always giving of his time, listening and helping others. He gave his life for us on the Cross and he gave us his body and blood in the Eucharist. “God so loved the world that he GAVE his only son…” Giving is something God does because God is love. Generosity springs from a loving heart. Anne Frank said, “You will never become poorer by giving.”