The Maltese are known to be a generous people. Each time there is a fund-raising campaign, the donations always flow in as people do their best to help others in need. Of course, some campaigns are marketed better than others, and therefore the amounts raised are much higher. Still, every fund-raising campaign needs to be supported, because all are for a good cause and, as the saying goes, every little helps.

There are then the political parties’ fund-raising campaigns, which however target more or less only half of the population, and these are also successful in raising money, albeit for causes which are different from those of charitable institutions and voluntary organisations.

This weekend, the Church will be marking Charity Day. During Masses held this evening and all through tomorrow, the Church will be collecting money that will be passed on to its homes and institutions which provide shelter to homeless children and young people without a family, the Dar Tal-Providenza, the homes for the elderly, the Social Assistance Secretariat of the Catholic Action and the refugee section of the Secretariat for Emigration and Tourism.

The Church will also be collecting foodstuffs and other commodities, and for this purpose big baskets will be placed at the entrance of all churches. The contributions will be donated to the homes for children, young people and persons with special needs.

It is time for the Maltese people to once again show their great generosity, as we are sure that they will.

Even those who do not go to Sunday Mass – and nearly half don’t, according to the latest census report compiled by the Curia – could donate money by sending it to the parish priest, if they so wish. Not going to Mass should not prevent generous people from doing their bit.

Church institutions carry out sterling work among people who need others to help them live as normal a life as possible. To do this, the institutions need a lot of money and all the help they can get.

Yet, charity is not only giving money, which is sometimes extra cash that we can spare or money that would have been used for material goods that we could do without. Even Jesus Christ said something about such donations: “When He (Jesus) looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and He noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood’.” (Luke 21:1)

What he meant when he said those words, among other things, is that the “richer” people do well to donate their money towards the needy, but at the same time it is not enough – they should do much more.

Because it is easy to put your hands in your pockets and give some cash, putting your conscience at ease once you are doing something to help others. But it is much harder to, for example, give up some of your time to work on a voluntary basis with people who are in need. It is much harder to go out of your way and do a little favour to someone.

Charity Day is a time for reflection for those who have been lucky enough to live a comfortable life. It is a time to think of those people who have little, if any, material wealth when we have all that we need, and perhaps more than we need.