Recovering Liberality
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by Patricia Gibler Clark
Being labeled a liberal is a dangerous thing these days. How can we recover some of the goodness of this word and defuse its political power? How can we name and claim the virtue of Liberality as present in beauty and grace in our world today?You remember Liberality, don't you? She's the virtue, as described in the Catholic Encyclopedia, who observes "a reasonable mean between the opposite extremes of prodigality and stinginess in making expenditures intended for the benefit of others." Her stance is one of balance between living within our means and responding out of compassion to satisfy the needs for justice, mercy and charity for others. Her energy invites us to be generous in a spontaneous sort of way while still being sure we can respond to calls for help in response to specific needs.
Teresa of Avila said there was no way of attaining union with the Beloved other than by the practice of the "great virtues." She often wrote her sisters about the value of cultivating the virtues in order to uncover their spiritual riches. She offered the virtues as a tool for awareness; by appreciating the presence of the energy offered by the virtues, one would be able to appreciate God's presence and wisdom:
"For how can a man, unaware that he is rich, make good use of his riches and spend them liberally? It is impossible, I think, taking our nature into consideration, that anyone who fails to realize that he is favoured by God should have the courage necessary for doing great things." (Teresa of Avila, Life)
Teresa encourages us to appreciate the virtues as favors from God and as the only way to have the courage to do the great things. If we, with God's grace, can see ourselves to be "favoured by God" and created in the image of God, the virtue of Liberality will make herself known to us in our own unique and liberating way.
If the virtue Liberality is an attribute of God, as Teresa believed all the virtues to be, our own contemplative awareness, consciousness of the beauty of the moment, and presence in a space of open emptiness are our grounding tools. Rather than getting hung up in an evaluation of how much liberality there is in the world, the energy of the virtue itself encourages us simply to be present, active and good. Cultivating the balance of liberality offers a way for our daily lives to be informed in the ways of God.
Again, from the Catholic Encyclopedia: "Liberality differs from justice because what is given is not strictly owed; from mercy, because it is not evoked by the need of the beneficiary; from gratitude, because its gifts are not viewed as a return for favors received." The virtue of liberality invites us to hold an awareness of the world that does not ask for a response that's due for a specific reason. She welcomes our ran-dom act of kindness, asking us to keep something back for the future need. She favors an intuitive heart in our giving that accompanies also a logical spirit that in some way calculates our savings for what may be next. She does not allow us to rest in this position of saving for the future or wildly abandoning our fortunes to a present moment gift. Her generosity lies in the constant awareness of what's right, considering all, for now, for good, for freedom.
I invite you to welcome Liberality into your consciousness and see what form she takes. Picture a garden, perhaps, or an ecosystem where there is enough-time, money, spiritual riches-to clothe, feed and embolden all God's creatures. Where's that place of delicate balance in this moment? How does this moment inform the next? Liberality as an act, or stance, of generosity that is not owed, not evoked by need, not given in return for a favor runs counter to most of our beliefs about giving and receiving. How can we discern distribution of our earthly goods as well as moderate the extremes of prodigality and stinginess without God's guidance and love? How can any action come as an expression of Liberality without being empowered by her graceful energy of prayer and letting go?
One form that Liberality takes for me is as the guardian of my personal checkbook. As I balance my accounts, she helps me reconcile my expenses and appreciate my deposits. Liberality invites me to see what's outstanding, what's not cleared, and to see the discrepancies between my personal account balance and a larger view. Liberality is present, active and good in the accounts of my other life arenas as well. I bring some space to these marketplaces with my breath and my desire for openness in the moment.
I get great courage as well from the friends who struggle with this balance and who continue to honor the truth of this virtue. As we speak truth to power and enter into the challenges of this struggle with stumbling grace, we will be rescued over and over, in the moment, by something... something... something bigger, freer and much more powerful than all the angels and saints present today in human form. We're not alone here. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
There is power in a dedication to the stance of balance for our polarized world. To do this we need to cultivate our inner space and look into the dark places of fear and attachment. Liberality requires that we use our open imagination to seek grounding in the fruits or sorrows of our daily bread. And then she asks to let her energy be activated to generosity in proportion to our means.
© 2008 The Shalem Institute.