DO GOODNESS FOR ITS OWN SAKE

                           

This week while reading Pope Francis’ new encyclical (Fratelli Tutti  #139) one suggestion caught my attention: Do good. The only reason to do good is the goodness itself.

 

From time to time in our spiritual lives we need that small provocation to do good. Too much of our actions always demand a consequence, if not a reward than at least a recognition of the good we have done. 

 

Do good but not in the sight of others. Do good and hope that no one ever recognizes the good you have done. Do good so that only God will see the good you have done.

 

There is a mid-seventies man, John, who takes his long time co-worker , Nick, for coffee every morning. Nick is mid-way to advanced dementia. He no longer makes any conversation but he still enjoys getting out for coffee with others (he does not recognize the old time friends around the table). 

 

There is Helen and Justina, our two grandmothers whose driving we are all nervous bout, who make it a point twice a week to visit the elderly shut-ins in their Saskatchewan town. Even though they have known each other for decades they want to make sure that no one is forgotten and left to slowly deteriorate on the sidelines. 

 

There is Alice who is always available to sit with the dying in the palliative care ward. Today when families are so small they appreciate Alice, who is not a nurse, spending time with the dying loved one while they try to catch some much needed sleep. 

 

We have Catherine who calls up her grade four teacher and invites her to go out for coffee. Now Ms. Helen would never ask anyone to take her to the grocery store or a medical appointment. On the way to Tim Horton’s Catherine makes mention: “I have to stop and pick up a few things at the grocery store. Is there anything you need to pick up?” Even though this is now their little game, it still provides assistance to Ms. Helen who would never ask for help otherwise.

 

No one needs to go searching for the good they can do towards others. They only have to open their eyes. What we are dealing with here is our firm belief in the power of goodness itself. An act of goodness is done simply for its own importance and contribution towards the lives of others. Goodness does not have to explain itself. If someone would ask you, ‘why are you doing that?’, you only give them that look that says they should already understand the motivation and say, ‘because!’

 

Doing good that only God will see is always an opportunity. This is a graced moment to lift the spirits of another, even if they are totally unaware of this act of goodness.

 

Would it not be wonderful if everyone who claims to believe in God would begin their day, “Lord, let me do good today because I will never pass this way again.”