Free Republic

THE BOOK As human beings we are constantly engaging and disengaging in everything we do. We engage and disengage at work, in marriage, as parents, in our quest for health and well-being, in personal finances, environmentally, politically, and, of course, we engage or disengage spiritually. If you walk into any Catholic church next Sunday and look around, you will discover that some people are highly engaged, others are massively disengaged, and the majority are somewhere in between. Why? What is the difference between highly engaged Catholics and disengaged Catholics? Answering this question is essential to the future of the Catholic...

Science says lasting relationships come down to—you guessed it -- KINDNESS and GENEROSITY. Every day in June, the most popular wedding month of the year, about 13,000 American couples will say “I do,” committing to a lifelong relationship that will be full of friendship, joy, and love that will carry them forward to their final days on this earth. Except, of course, it doesn’t work out that way for most people. The majority of marriages fail, either ending in divorce and separation or devolving into bitterness and dysfunction. Of all the people who get married, only three in ten remain...

Charlotte philanthropist Bahman Maalizadeh refuses to stand by as refugees flee Islamic State militants in the Middle East. On Saturday, he will fly to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to deliver five to 10 truckloads of medicine, food and other supplies to Yazidi and Christian refugees.

One of the struggles that many Christians experience is that the needs around us are so great, and yet we are limited, both in personal strength, and in resources. And, lurking in the back of our mind, is a notion that whatever the problem, Jesus would always help and so should we. But, then, is it always wrong to say no when there is need?It is a true fact, Jesus was quite generous with his time, attention, and resources. We too are counseled to be rich in mercy and kindness, expansive in our charity and to be willing to forsake...

Good people, not to mention good tippers, do exist. Christina Summitt knows that for sure now after what happened Saturday night. The paw-print tattoo on Summitt's wrist often leads to conversations with strangers about her love of animals; she's a volunteer with a pit bull rescue group and spends lots of time finding homes for animals of all kinds. While tending bar at the Holiday Inn in Clinton, New Jersey, Summitt got to chatting with a friendly couple before the night got busy. The man asked her if she had dogs of her own; she confided that her "baby," a...

Thanks to the generous donations from hunters this holiday season, many people are not going hungry and will instead be able to enjoy a healthy, hot, protein filled meal.

“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business.” Americans, it seems, truly take Jacob Marley’s ghostly warning to Ebenezer Scrooge to heart -- not only at Christmas time, but throughout the year. Indeed, overall we are the most generous people on earth. The U.S. economy is responsible for a little more one-fifth of the world's total GDP, yet Americans give more in charity to the less fortunate than the rest of the world put together. We donated more than $300 billion in 2009, despite the economic downturn. This...

Inverted Morality Dinesh D’Souza recently debated Michael Shermer at Oregon State University. The debate topic was, “Is Christianity Good for American Politics”. D’Souza is an author, educator and, most recently, the creator of the movie, “2016: Obama’s America”. Shermer is the founder and publisher of Skeptic Magazine. This short clip conveys two very important points about morality and political philosophy. Dinesh has the same ability that Milton Friedman had to clearly explain complex ideas. Compulsion removes the virtue from human interactions. Free choice is a pre-requisite of moral action. Dinesh make good use of the wagon analogy. There are people...

There are 366 major metropolitan areas in the United States, and a comprehensive new study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy ranks them on the basis of generosity -- the percentage of income the median household in each city gives to charity. According to the Chronicle, the most generous city in America is Provo, Utah, where residents typically give away 13.9 percent of their discretionary income. Boston, by contrast, ranks No. 358: In New England's leading city, the median household donates just 2.9 percent of its income to charity. Provo's generosity is typical for its region. Of the 10 most generous...

This holiday season is a time to examine who's been naughty and who's been nice, but I'm unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy. Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet, when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates. Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, "Who Really Cares," cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an...

Dolores Hope supported Catholic causes Bob Hope's widow was a lifelong Catholic. By Catholic News Service   Dolores Hope (right) was responsible for the conversion of her husband, Bob, to Catholicism. She died Sept. 19 at the age of 102. By Catholic News Service LOS ANGELES — Dolores Hope, a lifelong Catholic who was the widow of comedian Bob Hope and an entertainer in her own right, died Sept. 19 at age 102 at her home in Toluca Lake outside of Los Angeles. A family spokesman said she died of natural causes. "Dolores Hope was a Catholic of deep and...

Note: This is the original story released about Miss McCarty's gift. Released: June 26, 1995. HATTIESBURG -- Oseola McCarty's lined, brown hands, now gnarled with arthritis, bear mute testimony to a lifetime spent washing and ironing other people's clothes. Less evident is how this quiet, 87-year-old black woman came to donate $150,000 to The University of Southern Mississippi. "I want to help somebody's child go to college," Miss McCarty said. "I just want it to go to someone who will appreciate it and learn. I'm old and I'm not going to live always." McCarty's gift establishes an endowed Oseola McCarty...

In the nightmare of Haiti, Americans were first to respond just as Americans have always responded, recession-bound or not. This is the giving spirit of America in action. Not waiting for anyone else, just doing what is necessary to help, without boasts, without expecting anything back. Simply America. America has always been there for others and always will be. Even a falling-in-the-polls President Obama whose conduct since election has been to belittle the spirit of America and its people is cashing in today on that generosity, promising to a shocked and grief stricken people his “unwavering support” and a “swift...

Fort Mill, SC (WBTV) – In this season of giving, retail giant Lowe's Home Improvement donated $25,000 to help bring 200 soldiers home for the holidays. The company's generosity is making it possible for Pierson Young's husband to be there for their baby girl, Addison's first Christmas. "We're very excited," said Young. "When he left last time, she wasn't holding her head up on her own and now she can almost sit by herself," she said. "And all these new things we get to share with Daddy. Milestones that I was afraid he was going to miss--but is now going...

Featured Term (selected at random):POVERTY OF SHARING The voluntary sacrifice of one's possessions for the common good of a community. All means of support and activity are provided by the group. Practiced in the Church since apostolic times, it is described by St. Luke as one of the effects of receiving the Holy Spirit: "The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed" (Acts 2:44-45). All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life....

Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Psalm 112:5 How would our lives change if we sought to practice generosity and justice in everything we did? I believe the results would be astounding. Being generous is fairly easy to accomplish, and it goes beyond "not being stingy." Generosity is ungrudgingly giving something that you have to others so that they are more comfortable. It can be deal with money, food, service, time, and material goods. Of course you can even expand it to being generous with your knowledge and wisdom....

Share with God's people who are in need. Romans 12:13 This is the second time this week that I've singled out this verse. I discovered something this week from looking at this passage: there's a reason God put this verse here and it's this, God will use us to help other Believers. It seems obvious, doesn't it. But quite frankly, Believers who are in need won't get help from the outside world. 25 years ago when I became a Christian I believed that people looked out for one another around the world. Was I ever wrong! Recently I figured out...

Firefighters put out fire, return with turkey dinner The firehouse special By Eva Wolchover Saturday, November 29, 2008 - Updated 16h ago A Brighton family whose turkey dinner went up in flames Thursday morning learned the true meaning of Thanksgiving when the big-hearted jakes who put out their kitchen fire returned to their home with a scrumptuous holiday meal. “What do you say to someone who saves your life and then brings you dinner?” asked Alyson Georgopoulos, 23, who was visiting her parents at their Faneuil Gardens apartment in Brighton when the oven caught fire, charring the turkey and much...

A U.S. marine package USAID supplies bound for cyclone devastated Myanmar at the Utapao Air Force base near the southern city of Rayong, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.(AP Photo/Wally Santana) A U.S. marine rests against palates of USAID supplies bound for cyclone devastated Myanmar at the Utapao Air Force base near the southern city of Rayong, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.(AP Photo/Wally Santana) A USAID worker packages supplies bound for cyclone devastated Myanmar at the Utapao Air Force base near the southern city of Rayong, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2008

One oil company's offer to pay tuition for all graduating seniors brings hope and economic development to El Dorado. When officials announced the El Dorado Promise to an assembly of this Arkansas city's best and brightest high school students, there was a moment of stunned silence. A local oil company had just committed to paying college tuition and fees for all graduating seniors, regardless of their family income or their grades. Then the students – known as "Arkansas Scholars" because they carry intense course loads – cheered and returned to class. Art teacher Patrick Johnson will never forget what happened...