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Good morning. Today is the feast day of St Casimir the patron saint of Poland, Lithuania, and of young people. His name is perhaps not so well known in the UK, but he was a 15th century Polish prince, known for his distaste of luxury and his embrace of asceticism. According to tradition, Casimir wore plain clothes and a hair shirt, often slept on the ground and spent much of his time meditating on the suffering and death of Christ.  He was also renowned for his deep compassion and his generous charity to the poor.
There is a portrait of him in Vilnius Cathedral which is famous the world over, because of one very unusual feature – Casimir is depicted as having three hands!
Now, there have been a number of explanations offered for this, but my favourite one is that the extra hand was meant by the artist to depict Casimir’s great generosity, for which he was renowned even as a youth. 
Of course, Casimir was a wealthy young man, so perhaps giving was easier for him. Being generous can be a great challenge, especially when we don’t have much to spare ourselves. But it can also be a great blessing. The Bible tells us that God loves a cheerful giver and reflecting on the painting of St Casimir has made me wonder what it might look like for us to be three-handed in our generosity. Another saint, Ignatius of Loyola, prayed that he might learn to give without counting the cost, and perhaps this is the essence of generosity in money, time and self – to give freely to meet another’s need. 
God of abundant love, thank you  for the example of Casimir and those like him who have modelled the art of giving to us and others. Make us three-handed in our generosity, and teach us to give without counting the cost. Amen