Growing up, my parents always made sure that my siblings and I gave 10% of any money that we earned to the Church or a charity of our choice to teach us the importance of giving alms. They also taught us the importance of not only giving monetarily, but also our time and talent as well. All of us kids at one point or another were choir members, lectors, altar servers, ministers of Holy Communion, etc.
Of all the ways we were encouraged to participate as part of the Church, one of the most fundamental lessons I ever learned from my parents was: doing these things is fundamentally good, but can lose its goodness if you are only concerned about appearing righteous. “Cleaning the outside of the dish”, presenting yourself as a “do-gooder” and earning the praise of others with no regard of how God wants to use your gifts (whether monetary, time or talent) only feeds self-indulgence.
When I was in college, I was asked to lead praise and worship once and I turned it down because I never wanted to be in the spotlight. I didn’t want to risk being tempted by pride and letting whatever praise I was offering be tainted by my imperfection. However, the Gospel today offers us comfort, teaching us that when we focus on virtue that is between ourself and God, goodness cannot help but follow us in all aspects of our lives. I realized that rejecting an opportunity for God to work through our gifts may be a bigger sin than offering our gifts, despite the possibility of temptation.
God grants us gifts so that we can offer them back to Him in a spirit of thanksgiving and worship. He is fully aware that we are imperfect. And while at times we may still crave recognition and praise when we serve the body of Christ, God knows our intentions and our hearts. He will never let the gifts He gives us be tainted as long as we remain pure of heart. Our gifts will always be a blessing.
De niños, mis padres siempre se aseguraron de que mis hermanos y yo donáramos el 10% de nuestras ganancias a la Iglesia o a una organización benéfica que escogimos para enseñarnos la importancia de dar limosna. También nos enseñaron la importancia de dar no solo dinero, sino también nuestro tiempo y talentos. Todos mis hermanos y yo en algún momento fuimos miembros del coro, lectores, monaguillos, ministros de la Sagrada Comunión, etc.
De todas las maneras en que nos animaron a participar en la Iglesia, una de las lecciones más fundamentales que aprendí de mis padres fue: hacer estas cosas es fundamentalmente bueno, pero puede perder su bondad si solo te preocupas por parecer justo. “Limpiar el exterior del plato”, presentarse como un “bienhechor” y ganarse la alabanza de los demás sin importar cómo Dios quiere utilizar tus dones (ya sean monetarios, de tiempo o de talento) solo alimenta la autocomplacencia.
Cuando estaba en la universidad, una vez me pidieron que dirigiera la música, y dije que no porque no quería ser el centro de atención. No quería arriesgarme a caer en la tentación del orgullo y dejar que cualquier alabanza que ofreciera se viera contaminada por mi imperfección. Sin embargo, el Evangelio de hoy nos consuela, enseñándonos que cuando nos centramos en la virtud que reside entre nosotros y Dios, la bondad nos acompaña en todos los aspectos de nuestra vida. Comprendí que rechazar la oportunidad de que Dios obre a través de nuestros dones puede ser un pecado mayor que ofrecerlos, a pesar de la posibilidad de la tentación.
Dios nos concede dones para que se los devolvamos con un espíritu de agradecimiento y adoración. Él es plenamente consciente de nuestra imperfección. Y aunque a veces anhelemos reconocimiento y alabanza al servir al cuerpo de Cristo, Dios conoce nuestras intenciones y nuestros corazones. Nunca permitirá que los dones que nos da se manchen mientras mantengamos un corazón puro. Nuestros dones siempre serán una bendición.
Lily is a Michigan native and cradle Catholic who has spent most of her life exploring her own reasons to embrace her faith fully. She attended Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she discovered the beauty of her personal relationship with Christ and the Church. After college, she worked in Montessori Education for three years and recently transitioned to nannying. She was recently married and spends most of her time reading, and enjoying her dog and family!
Feature Image Credit: Kim Stiver, pexels.com/photo/person-s-holds-brown-gift-box-842876/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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