Every now and then I’m given an opportunity to do a purely
unselfish good deed to help a needy person. It usually works this way: I
observe a particular situation and see someone in need. A “suggestion” pops
into my head to go and do something to help that person. For once, I act on the
suggestion, which usually means that I end up reaching out and doing something
that I usually would never do without God’s grace.
I have to confess, however, that I get far more “suggestions”
to be charitable in that way than I tend to act on. Thomas Merton once said
that by entering the monastery he knew he would get 100,000 opportunities to be
charitable and that he’d probably follow through on a handful of them. Such is
my case as well.
The last time I did a good deed, I walked away feeling joyful
and grateful. I wasn’t tempted to take pride in what I had done; no, on the
contrary, I ended up giving thanks to God who had given me the opportunity in
the first place and the grace to act on it.
Has this ever happened to you?
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