How to practice real humility when praised?

[Basilian]

How do we practice humility when others see our good deeds?

Yesterday at Mass a homeless person came in. He had hitchhiked 60+ miles throughout Friday evening, and had slept under the canopy in front of the Church basement entrance in pouring rain. One of the religious brothers greeted him and invited him to coffee after Mass. The man stood in the small entance/narthex area after Mass had started. I tried to get a chair from one of the confessionals, but the door was locked. When the offertory came, I decided to just abandon the Mass and go downstairs to unlock the Hall doors, and come back up to let the man sit down for some coffee. I talked to him alone in the Hall throughout the rest of the Mass. After a while, everyone else came down to have coffee and tea… and during that time, I was strongly inspired to give him the money I had, along with my favourite umbrella and written directions to the daily homeless outreach at our cathedral.

Although I wasn’t conscious of it at the time, some people may have seen me hand over my somewhat famous umbrella. I tried to keep the act unseen. Eventually people will wonder where it has gone. What if someone says “I saw how you treated that homeless man yesterday” and congratulates me? What should my interior disposition be? How should I react? What should I think, if I want to glorify God and not myself?

I believe this is an important question… to discover our motivations by how we react when praised. Did we do X out of love, or out of pride?

Thank God for anonymity, or else I wouldn’t be able to ask anyone this question!

 

[houston1]

How do we practice humility when others see our good deeds?

Yesterday at Mass a homeless person came in. He had hitchhiked 60+ miles throughout Friday evening, and had slept under the canopy in front of the Church basement entrance in pouring rain. One of the religious brothers greeted him and invited him to coffee after Mass. The man stood in the small entance/narthex area after Mass had started. I tried to get a chair from one of the confessionals, but the door was locked. When the offertory came, I decided to just abandon the Mass and go downstairs to unlock the Hall doors, and come back up to let the man sit down for some coffee. I talked to him alone in the Hall throughout the rest of the Mass. After a while, everyone else came down to have coffee and tea… and during that time, I was strongly inspired to give him the money I had, along with my favourite umbrella and written directions to the daily homeless outreach at our cathedral.

Although I wasn’t conscious of it at the time, some people may have seen me hand over my somewhat famous umbrella. I tried to keep the act unseen. Eventually people will wonder where it has gone. What if someone says “I saw how you treated that homeless man yesterday” and congratulates me? What should my interior disposition be? How should I react? What should I think, if I want to glorify God and not myself?

I believe this is an important question… to discover our motivations by how we react when praised. Did we do X out of love, or out of pride?

Thank God for anonymity, or else I wouldn’t be able to ask anyone this question!

Basilian,

Do not worry. The fact that you are concerned about your motive is a strong indicator that your heart was in the right place. As to your interior disposition, I would say that you should then pray to God telling Him, “if I did this good thing, it is only because you inspired me to do it” or pray “may you, God, be praised” or a similar type prayer. Make your thoughts quickly turn to God in thanksgiving to move the focus off yourself to God. Keep working at this and it will become more natural.

Also remember that we are the “light of the world” and should let our “light shine before others” (see Mt. 5:14,16).

I hope this helps. Btw, don’t forget to receive the Eucharist in all of this (provided that you are Catholic and in the state of grace). The Eucharist strengthens us to do these good works.

houston1

 

[Basilian]

houston1, I did this primarily because of my Catholicism. I saw in that man the image & likeness of God, and followed - so I thought - the promptings of the Holy Spirit. After I left him, I did pray to God that if the man has any sense that he is loved because of me, then God should be glorified. I hope that’s the right thing to do.

If someone praises us for doing something good, maybe we should just say “well, he needed that umbrella or that coat or that hat or that food more than I did”.

I have a very strong desire that all Catholics should reach out to those who are poor and sad and lonely, because the Trinity is a community and relationships within perfect Unity. How will people come to the fullness of this holy and joyful and warm faith, if we don’t mirror the Trinity to them? The Trinity must be shown in our lives, just like Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.

This was the motive…

 

[on_the_hill]

You could respond: ‘I did what any of us would do when we have the opportunity to show our love for Christ.’

 

[ready]

Always consider yourself God’s unprofitable servant and a miserable sinner who can do no good at all without God. If someone praises you for a good deed you have done, thank God for giving you the goodwill and the ability to do good for another. God bless you.