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.
Pamela Kavanaugh is a grateful wife, mother, and grandmother who has dedicated her professional life to Catholic education. Though she has done her very best to teach her students well in the subjects of language and religion, she knows that she has learned more than she has taught. She lives, teaches, and writes in southwest suburban Chicago.
Former NPS Park Ranger, Catholic educator, and Youth Minister, Melissa Lucca now spends her days evangelizing family and neighbors as a stay-at-home mom. She holds an MA in Theology from the Augustine Institute and pursues personal study in her spare time. Melissa loves Ignatian Spirituality, Mother Mary, and rock climbing. If you don’t hear her and her kiddo laughing at home, then they are probably out on an adventure!
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and eleven grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is 
Merridith Frediani loves words and is delighted by good sentences. She also loves Lake Michigan, dahlias, the first sip of hot coffee in the morning, millennials, and playing Sheepshead with her husband and three kids. She writes for Catholic Mom, Diocesan.com, and her local Catholic Herald. Her first book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Adoration is available at Our Sunday Visitor and Amazon. You can learn more at 
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the older one who is fascinated with learning about his faith. He also has served on a Catholic school board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Christine Arata is a San Francisco, California native. She lives a few blocks away from the ocean and a park. She finds nature inspiring. Her cat brings her comfort. She loves being creative not only with her writing but with almost everything, including her home cooking. Her studies in the Catholic faith are ongoing. In 2019, when she discovered St. Hildegard of Bingen was underrepresented by Catholics, she found a purpose. Her latest website, St. Hildegard’s Wisdom features blog posts about all of that: 
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at 
Colleen Orchanian is a podcaster, blogger, and spiritual director who desires to help others have a more profound encounter with God. She is the author of three books: Nearer My God to Thee, Times of Grace, and Lingering with God. Her podcast is Food for Thought (Spiritually Speaking). You can learn more at 
Ben Hooper is originally from Maryland, having been adopted from Korea and growing up in the Catholic faith. He went to Franciscan University to dive deeper into his faith and eventually graduated with a degree in Business Management. He loves musical theater, sports, spending time with his wife Lily and their dog Kolbe.
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