Clement’s generosity

A farmer named Clement was very generous with his produce and would often distribute vegetables to his neighbors and poor people he meets. He also had a habit of writing anonymous cards for people’s birthdays. He was a shy person and very quiet. Even his own family didn’t know how generous he was. Every month he would give $100 to the local pharmacist so that he could use them for people who could not afford to pay for their medicine. But he insisted with the pharmacist that no one should know who paid for their prescription, which were often quite expensive. For 10 years he kept giving the money to be used as a charitable donation. When Clement got sick, he called his daughter Tania and explained what he had been doing, and asked her to give the $100 to the pharmacist every month. She was not surprised by his kindness, and did what he requested. Clement died on January 1, 2023, and during the funeral Tania could not resist keeping this story to herself and told the congregation of her father’s generosity. After the funeral, a local teacher approached Tania and explained to her that his son needed an expensive medicine every month, and they could not afford it without the help from the pharmacist, which he now knew that it came from Clement. The word spread around and within a few days all kinds of donations kept coming to the Pharmacy, to continue this charitable marathon. With values going down the drain in our society, it’s so uplifting to hear these stories of altruism, generosity and kindness. (Tomorrow I will share with you a similar experience in one of the parishes I served in.)