Live for the day, but let it be a generous day. Have you ever tried giving God one day in which you refused him nothing, a day of absolute generosity?

COMMENT: One theme that arises frequently in Fr Doyle’s writing is that of generosity. He felt he was called to greater generosity with God. What does this mean? Obviously it means an even more determined battle against sin. Can we say that we are really generous with God if we wilfully persist in sin, without a conscious battle to fight against it? But there is more, for not only are we called to the “negative” battle against sin, we are called to a “positive” battle to acquire the virtues, to love God and others more, and to show this love in needs and not merely in sweet words or good intentions that never go anywhere…

God has given us everything we have. Our body. Our mind. Our will. Our talents. Our time on this earth. And He wishes to give us an eternity of union with Him in unimaginable joy. And in response He wants our generosity. 

We are sinners, with inherent weaknesses and defects that require much effort and grace to overcome. A day of “absolute generosity”, as suggested by Fr Doyle, is surely beyond most, if not all, humans, except perhaps for those who have reached the the very highest stages of the spiritual life in the unitive way. But still we should struggle each day to be a little bit more generous with God and with others. We should not fear being generous with God, as can sometimes happen. St Josemaria Escriva puts us at ease on this point:

God does not let himself be outdone in generosity.