LET NOT YOUR LEFT HAND KNOW WHAT YOUR RIGHT HAND GIVES.

To do good without ostentation. — Hidden misfortunes.

— The widow's mite.

— To invite the poor and the crippled. To give without expecting recompense.

— INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SPIRITS: Material charity and moral charity.

— Beneficence.

— Pity. — Orphans.

— Benefits repaid with ingratitude.

— Exclusive beneficence.

To do good without ostentation.

Take care not to perform your good works before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you will receive no recompense from your Father who is in Heaven. — Thus, when you give alms, do not sound the trumpet, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by men. I tell you truly that they have already received their recompense.

— When you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does; — so that the alms may remain in secret, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will recompense you. (Saint Matthew, chapter VI, vv. 1 to 4.)

When Jesus had come down from the mountain, a great multitude followed him; — at the same time, a leper came to meet him and adored him, saying: Lord, if you will, you can heal me. — Jesus, stretching out his hand, touched him and said: I will it;

be healed; and at that very instant the leprosy vanished. — Then Jesus said to him: refrain from speaking of this to anyone whatsoever; but go and show yourself to the priests and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, so that it may serve them as proof. (Saint Matthew, chapter VIII, vv. 1 to 4.)

In doing good without ostentation there is great merit; 2 more meritorious still is to conceal the hand that gives; 3 it constitutes an incontestable mark of great moral superiority, for, in order to regard things from a higher vantage than the common run of people do, one must abstract oneself from the present life and identify oneself with the future life; in a word, place oneself above Humanity, so as to renounce the satisfaction that comes from the testimony of men and await the approval of God.

He who prefers the suffrage of men to that of God proves that he places more faith in the former than in the Divinity, and that he sets more value on the present life than on the future one. If he says the contrary, he acts as though he did not believe what he says.

How many there are who give only in the hope that the one who receives will go about everywhere proclaiming the benefit received! How many who, in public, give great sums, yet who, in secret, would not give a single coin! It was for this reason that Jesus declared: “Those who do good ostentatiously have already received their recompense;” 6 indeed, he who seeks his own glorification on Earth, through the good he does, has already paid himself; God owes him nothing more; there remains for him only to receive the punishment of his pride.

For the left hand not to know what the right hand gives is an image that admirably characterizes modest beneficence; 8 but, if there is real modesty, there is also false modesty, the simulacrum of modesty. There are people who conceal the hand that gives, taking care, however, to let a little bit of it show, looking around to verify whether someone may not have seen them conceal it. An unworthy parody of the maxims of Christ!

If proud benefactors are disparaged among men, what will they be before God? They too have already received their recompense on Earth. They were seen; they are satisfied at having been seen. That is all they will have.

And what can be the recompense of one who makes his benefits weigh upon the one who receives them, who imposes upon him, in a certain manner, testimonies of gratitude, who makes him feel his position, by exalting the price of the sacrifices to which he devotes himself in order to benefit him? Oh! for such a one, not even the earthly recompense exists, for he sees himself deprived of the gratifying satisfaction of hearing his name blessed, and this is the first chastisement of his pride. The tears that he dries out of vanity, instead of rising to Heaven, fall back upon the heart of the afflicted one and wound it.

From the good he did no profit results to him, for he deplores it, and every deplored benefit is counterfeit coin without value.

Beneficence practiced without ostentation has a double merit. Besides being material charity, it is moral charity, 13 since it safeguards the sensibility of the one benefited, makes him accept the benefit without his self-love being wounded, and preserves his dignity as a man, for to accept a service is a thing quite different from receiving alms; 14 now, to convert a service into alms, by the manner of rendering it, is to humiliate the one who receives it, and, in humiliating another, there is always pride and malice.

True charity, on the contrary, is delicate and ingenious in disguising the benefit, in avoiding even the mere appearances capable of giving offense, given that every moral friction increases the suffering that arises from need. It knows how to find gentle and affable words that put the one benefited at ease in the presence of the benefactor, whereas proud charity crushes him.

True generosity acquires all its sublimity when the benefactor, reversing the roles, finds means of appearing as the one benefited before the one to whom he renders a service. This is what these words mean: Let not the left hand know what the right hand gives. Hidden misfortunes.

In great calamities, charity is moved and one observes generous impulses to repair the disasters. But, alongside these general disasters, there are thousands of particular disasters that pass unnoticed: those of the ones who lie upon a wretched pallet without complaining. These discreet and hidden misfortunes are the ones that true generosity knows how to discover, without waiting for assistance to be asked.

Who is this woman of distinguished bearing, of such simple attire, though well kept, and who brings in her company a young girl so modestly dressed? She enters a house of sordid appearance, where she is no doubt known, for at the entrance she is respectfully greeted.

Where is she going? She climbs up to the garret, where a mother of a family lies surrounded by children. At her arrival, joy shines forth on those emaciated faces. For she will calm there all their pains. She brings what they need, seasoned with gentle and consoling words, which cause her proteges, who are not professionals of begging, to accept the benefit without blushing; 4 the father is in the hospital, and, while he remains there, the mother cannot, by her work, provide for the family's needs. Thanks to the good lady, those poor children will no longer feel cold or hunger; they will go to school warmly clad, and, for the littlest ones, the milk will not dry up in the breast that nurses them.

If among them one falls ill, the good lady will not be repelled by the material care that the child may need.

From there she goes to the hospital to bring the father some comfort and to reassure him about the family's fate.

At the corner of the street, a carriage awaits her, a veritable storehouse of all that she destines for her proteges, who all receive her visit in turn; 8 she does not ask them what creed they profess, nor what their opinions are, for she considers all men as her brothers and children of God.

Her round finished, she says to herself: I have begun my day well. What is her name? Where does she live? No one knows. For the unfortunate, it is a name that indicates nothing; but she is the angel of consolation; 10 and, at night, a concert of blessings rises in her favor to the celestial Father: Catholics, Jews, Protestants, all bless her.

Why such plain attire? So as not to insult misery with her luxury.

Why does she have herself accompanied by her daughter? So that the girl may learn how beneficence ought to be practiced.

The young girl too wishes to do charity. The mother, however, says to her: “What can you give, my daughter, when you have nothing of your own? If I pass into your hands something for you to give to another, what will be your merit? In that case, in reality, it would be I who do the charity; what merit would you have in it? It is not just. When we visit the sick, you help me to care for them. Now, to dispense care is to give something.

Does that not seem enough to you? Nothing is simpler. Learn to do useful work and you will make clothes for those little children. In that way, you will give something that comes from you.”

It is thus that that truly Christian mother prepares her daughter for the practice of the virtues that Christ taught.

Is she a Spiritist? What does it matter! At home, she is the woman of the world, because her position requires it. But people are unaware of what she does, because she desires no other approval than that of God and of her conscience.

One day, however, an unforeseen circumstance brings to her house one of her proteges, who went about selling work made by her own hands. The latter, on seeing her, recognized in her her benefactress. “Silence! the lady commands her. Do not tell anyone.” Thus spoke Jesus.

The widow's mite.

While Jesus was seated opposite the treasury, observing in what manner the people cast their money there, he saw that many rich persons cast it in abundance. — Thereupon there also came a poor widow who cast in only two small coins worth ten cents each. — Then calling his disciples, he said to them: Truly I tell you that this poor widow has given much more than all those who before put their offerings into the treasury;

— for all the others gave of what they have in abundance, whereas she gave of what she lacks, she gave indeed all that she had for her sustenance.

(Saint Mark, chapter XII, vv. 41 to 44 — Saint Luke, chapter XXI, vv. 1 to 4.)

Many people deplore not being able to do all the good they would wish, for lack of sufficient resources, and, if they desire to possess riches, it is, they say, to put them to good use.

The intention is no doubt praiseworthy, and may even in some be sincere. Yet is it certain that it is completely disinterested in all? Will there not be those who, desiring to do good to others, would greatly value being able to begin by doing it to themselves, by procuring for themselves a few more pleasures, by enjoying a little of the superfluous they lack, ready to give the rest to the poor?

This second intention, which such persons perhaps dissimulate from their own eyes, but which would present itself to them at the bottom of their hearts, if they scrutinized them, nullifies the merit of the purpose, since, with true charity, man thinks of others before thinking of himself.

The sublime point of charity, in that case, would lie in his seeking, in his work, through the employment of his strength, his intelligence, his talents, the resources he lacks to realize his generous purposes.

Therein would lie the sacrifice most pleasing to the Lord.

Unfortunately, the majority live dreaming of the means of more easily enriching themselves suddenly and without effort, running after chimeras, such as the discovery of treasures, of a favorable turn of chance, of the receipt of unexpected inheritances, etc.

What is to be said of those who hope to find in the Spirits auxiliaries who will second them in the attainment of such objectives? They certainly do not know, nor do they understand the sacred purpose of Spiritism, and, even less, the mission of the Spirits whom God permits to communicate with men. Hence comes their being punished by disappointments. (The Mediums' Book, 2nd part:

Nos. 294 and 295.)

Those whose intention is free of any personal idea ought to console themselves for the impossibility in which they find themselves of doing all the good they would wish, by recalling that the mite of the poor man, of one who gives by depriving himself of the necessary, weighs more in the balance of God than the gold of the rich man who gives without depriving himself of anything at all.

Great indeed would be the satisfaction of the former, if he could relieve indigence on a large scale; but, if that satisfaction is denied him, let him submit and limit himself to doing what he can.

Besides, is it only with money that tears can be dried, and must one remain inactive simply because one has no money? Anyone who sincerely desires to be useful to his brothers will find a thousand occasions to realize his desire; 10 let him seek them and they will present themselves to him; if not in one way, then in another, for there is no one who, in full enjoyment of his faculties, cannot render some service, lavish a consolation, lessen a physical or moral suffering, make a useful effort.

Does not everyone, for want of money, have his work, his time, his rest, of all of which to give a part to his neighbor? There too is the gift of the poor, the widow's mite. To invite the poor and the crippled.

He also said to the one who had invited him: When you give a dinner or a supper, do not invite either your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your neighbors who are rich, so that they may not afterward invite you in turn and thus repay what they received from you. — When you give a feast, invite to it the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; — and you will be blessed because they have no means of repaying you, for this will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

One of those who were at the table, hearing these words, said to him:

Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God! (Saint Luke, chapter XIV, vv. 12 to 15.)

“When you give a feast,” said Jesus, “do not invite to it your friends, but the poor and the crippled.” These words, absurd if taken literally, are sublime if we seek their spirit.

It is not possible that Jesus meant that, instead of one's friends, one should gather at one's table the beggars of the street. His language was almost always figurative, and, for men incapable of grasping the delicate shades of thought, he needed to make use of strong images, which would produce the effect of a vivid coloring.

The core of his thought is revealed in this proposition: “And you will be blessed because they have no means of repaying you.” It means that one ought not to do good with a view to a repayment, but solely for the pleasure of doing it.

Using a vibrant comparison, he said: Invite to your feasts the poor, for you know that they can repay you nothing; 5 by feasts you must understand, not repasts properly so called, but the sharing of the abundance which you enjoy.

Nevertheless, that admonition can also be applied in a more literal sense. How many invite to their tables only those who can, as they say, do them honor, or, in turn, invite them!

Others, on the contrary, find satisfaction in receiving the less fortunate relatives and friends. Now, who does not count some among his own? In this way, a great service is sometimes rendered to them, without its seeming so. The former, without going to recruit the blind and the crippled, practice the maxim of Jesus, if they do it out of benevolence, without ostentation, and know how to disguise the benefit by means of a sincere cordiality. INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SPIRITS.

Material charity and moral charity.

“Let us love one another and let us do to others what we would wish them to do to us.” All religion, all morality is contained in these two precepts; 2 if they were observed in this world, you would all be happy: no more hatreds there, nor resentments. I will say further: no more poverty, for, from the superfluity of the table of each rich man, many poor would be fed, and you would no longer see, in the somber quarters where I dwelt during my last incarnation, poor women dragging along with them miserable children who lacked everything.

Rich people! think a little on this. Help the unfortunate the best you can. Give, so that God may one day repay you the good you have done, so that you may have, on leaving your earthly envelope, a cortege of grateful Spirits to receive you on the threshold of a happier world.

If you could know the joy I experienced on meeting in the Beyond those whom, in my last existence, it was given me to serve!…

Love, therefore, your neighbor; love him as yourselves. For you now know that, in repelling one of these unfortunate ones, you may perhaps be turning away from you a brother, a father, a friend of yours from times past. If it be so, what despair will you not fall prey to, on recognizing him in the world of the Spirits!

I wish you to understand well what moral charity is, which all can practice, which costs nothing, materially speaking, but which is the most difficult to exercise.

Moral charity consists in creatures bearing with one another, and it is what you do least in that inferior world where you find yourselves, for now, incarnate.

Great merit there is, believe me, in a man's knowing how to keep silent, letting another more foolish than himself speak. It is a kind of charity, that.

To know how to be deaf when a mocking word escapes from a mouth accustomed to scoffing; 10 not to see the smile of disdain with which you are received by persons who, often wrongly, suppose themselves above you, when in the spiritual life, the only real one, they are not seldom far below, constitutes merit, not from the point of view of humility, but from that of charity, for to pay no attention to the wrong conduct of another is moral charity.

That charity, however, ought not to be an obstacle to the other. But take care, above all, not to treat your fellow being with contempt; 12 remember all that I have already told you: Bear ever in mind that, in repelling a poor man, you may perhaps be repelling a Spirit who was dear to you and who, at the moment, finds himself in a position inferior to yours.

I have met here one of the poor of Earth whom, by good fortune, I had been able to help a few times, and to whom, in my turn, I now have to implore help.

Remember that Jesus said that we are all brothers, and think on this always, before you repel the leper or the beggar. Farewell: think of those who suffer, and pray. — (SISTER ROSALIE. Paris, 1860.)

My friends, to many of you I have heard say: How am I to do charity, if often I do not even have what is necessary?

Friends, in a thousand ways charity is done. You can do it by thoughts, by words, and by deeds.

By thoughts, praying for the poor abandoned ones who died without even being in a condition to see the light. A prayer made from the heart relieves them.

By words, giving to your everyday companions some good counsel, saying to those whom despair and privations have embittered and led to blaspheme the name of the Most High: “I was as you are; I suffered, I felt unhappy, but I believed in Spiritism and, behold, now, I am happy.”

To the old people who say to you: “It is useless; I am at the end of my journey; I will die as I lived,” say: “God uses equal justice toward all of us; remember the laborers of the last hour.”

To the children already corrupted by the company they kept and who go about the world, on the verge of succumbing to evil temptations; say: “God sees you, my dear little ones,” and do not weary of repeating to them these gentle words. They will end by germinating in their childish minds and, instead of vagabonds, you will make of them men. That too is charity.

Others among you say: “Come now! we are so numerous on Earth that God cannot see us all.” Hear this well, my friends: When you are on the summit of the mountain, do you not take in with your gaze the billions of grains of sand that cover it? Well then: in the same way God sees you.

He lets you use your free will, as you let those grains of sand move at the whim of the wind that disperses them. Only, God, in his infinite mercy, has placed in the bottom of your heart a vigilant sentinel, which is called conscience.

Listen to it, for only good counsel will it give you. Sometimes you manage to deaden it, opposing to it the spirit of evil. It then falls silent. But be certain that the poor banished one will make itself heard, as soon as you allow it to perceive the shadow of remorse. Hear it, question it, and frequently you will find yourselves consoled by the counsel you will have received from it.

My friends, to each new regiment the general delivers a standard. I give you as device this maxim of Christ: “Love one another.” Observe that precept, gather all of you around that banner, and you will have happiness and consolation. — (A PROTECTOR SPIRIT. Lyon, 1860.)

Beneficence.

Beneficence, my friends, will give you in that world the purest and gentlest delights, the joys of the heart, which neither remorse nor indifference disturbs.

Oh! could you understand all that is great and agreeable in the generosity of beautiful souls, a sentiment that makes the creature regard others as it regards itself, and strip itself, joyfully, to clothe its brother!

Could you, my friends, have as your sole occupation the making of others happy!

What worldly festivities could you compare to those you celebrate when, as representatives of the Divinity, you bring joy to those families which of life know only the vicissitudes and the bitterness, when you see in them the wasted faces suddenly shine forth with hope, because, lacking bread, the unfortunate ones heard their little children, ignorant that to live is to suffer, repeatedly crying out, in tears, these words, which, like a sharp dagger, sank into the maternal hearts: I am hungry!…

Oh! understand how delicious are the impressions received by one who sees joy reborn where, a moment before, there was only despair! Understand the obligations you have toward your brothers!

Go, go to meet misfortune; go to the succor, above all, of hidden miseries, for they are the most painful! Go, my well-beloved, and bear in mind these words of the Savior: “When you clothe one of these little ones, remember that it is to me that you do it!”

Charity! sublime word that synthesizes all the virtues, it is you who shall lead the peoples to happiness; 8 by practicing you, they will create for themselves infinite joys in the future, and, while they remain exiled on Earth, you will be for them the consolation, the foretaste of the joys they will enjoy later, when they find themselves gathered in the bosom of the God of love.

It was you, divine virtue, who procured for me the only moments of satisfaction I enjoyed on Earth. May my incarnate brothers believe the word of the friend who speaks to them, saying to them: It is in charity that you ought to seek the peace of the heart, the contentment of the soul, the remedy for the afflictions of life.

Oh! when you are on the point of accusing God, cast a glance below you; see how many miseries to relieve, how many poor children without family, how many old people without any friendly hand to support them and close their eyes when death claims them!

How much good to do! Oh! do not complain; on the contrary, give thanks to God and lavish in handfuls your sympathy, your love, your money upon all those who, disinherited of the goods of this world, languish in pain and isolation! You will reap in that world very sweet joys and, later… God alone knows!… — (ADOLPHE, bishop of Algiers. Bordeaux, 1861.)

Be good and charitable: that is the key to Heaven, a key you hold in your hands; 2 all eternal happiness is contained in this precept: Love one another.

The soul cannot rise to the high spiritual regions except through devotion to one's neighbor; only in the transports of charity does it find happiness and consolation; 4 be good, support your brothers, set aside the hideous wound of egoism. That duty fulfilled, the path of eternal happiness will open to you.

Moreover, which among you has not yet felt his heart beat with joy, with intimate gladness, at the narrative of an act of beautiful devotion, of a truly charitable work?

If you sought only the delight that a good action procures, you would keep yourselves always on the path of spiritual progress. Examples are not lacking to you; only good will is rare. Note that your history keeps pious remembrance of a multitude of men of good.

Did not Jesus tell you all that concerns the virtues of charity and love? Why scorn his divine teachings? Why close your ear to his divine words, your heart to all his kindly precepts?

I would wish that more interest, more faith were given to the evangelical readings. But people scorn that book, consider it a repository of hollow words, a sealed letter; they leave in oblivion that admirable code. Your ills all come from the voluntary abandonment to which you condemn that summary of the divine laws. Read its sparkling pages of the devotion of Jesus, and meditate upon them.

Strong men, arm yourselves; weak men, make of your gentleness, of your faith, your weapons; 10 be more persuasive, more constant in the propagation of your new doctrine. Only encouragement is what we come to give you; only to stimulate your zeal and your virtues does God permit us to manifest ourselves to you; 11 but, if each one willed it, his own will and the help of God would suffice; the Spirit manifestations are produced solely for those whose eyes are closed and whose hearts are unruly.

Charity is the fundamental virtue upon which the whole edifice of the earthly virtues must rest. Without it the others do not exist.

Without charity there is no hope of a better fate, there is no moral interest to guide us; without charity there is no faith, for faith is nothing more than the pure luminosity that makes a charitable soul shine.

Charity is, in all worlds, the eternal anchor of salvation; it is the purest emanation of the Creator himself; it is his own virtue, given by him to the creature.

How can one scorn that supreme goodness? what heart, aware of this, is perverse enough to repress within itself and expel that wholly divine sentiment? What son is bad enough to rebel against that sweet caress: charity?

I dare not speak of what I did, for the Spirits too have the modesty of their works; I consider, however, the one I initiated as one of those which shall most contribute to the relief of your fellow beings. I see frequently the Spirits asking that it be given them, as a mission, to continue my task.

I see them, my kind and dear sisters, in the pious and divine ministry; I see them practicing the virtue I recommend to you, with all the gladness that derives from an existence of devotion and sacrifice. Immense is my happiness in seeing how much their character honors them, how esteemed and protected is the mission they perform.

Men of good, of good and firm will, unite to continue amply the work of propagating charity; in the very exercise of that virtue, you will find your recompense; there is no spiritual joy that it does not procure even in the present life. Be united, love one another, according to the precepts of Christ. So be it. — (Saint VINCENT DE PAUL. Paris, 1858.)

My name is Charity; I follow the principal road that leads to God. Accompany me, for I know the goal at which you must all aim.

This morning I made my customary round and, with embittered heart, I come to tell you: Oh! my friends, how many miseries, how many tears, how much you have to do to dry them all!

In vain I sought to console some poor mothers, saying to them in their ear: Courage! there are good hearts that watch over you; you will not be abandoned; patience! God is there; you are loved by him, you are his elect.

They seemed to hear me and turned toward me their eyes wide with astonishment; I read in their faces that their bodies, tyrants of the Spirit, were hungry, and that, if it is true that my words calmed their hearts a little, they did not comfort their stomachs.

I repeated to them: Courage! Courage! Then a poor mother, still very young, who was nursing a little child, took it in her arms and stretched it out into the empty space, as though asking me to protect that little being who found only, in a barren breast, insufficient nourishment.

Elsewhere I saw, my friends, poor old people without work and, in consequence, without shelter, prey to all the sufferings of penury and, ashamed of their misery, not daring, they who had never begged, to implore the pity of passersby. With heart swollen with compassion, I, who have nothing, made myself a beggar for them and go, everywhere, to stimulate beneficence, to inspire good thoughts in generous and compassionate hearts.

That is why I come here, my friends, and say to you: There are out there unfortunate ones, in whose hovels bread is lacking, the hearths are without fire, and the beds without coverings. I do not tell you what you ought to do; I leave the initiative to your good hearts. If I dictated to you the conduct, your good action would bring you no merit;

I tell you only: I am charity, and I stretch out my hands to you on behalf of your brothers who suffer.

But, if I ask, I also give, and I give much. I invite you to a great banquet and furnish the tree at which all of you will satisfy yourselves! See how beautiful it is, how laden with flowers and fruits! Go, go, gather, pick all the fruits of that magnificent tree which is called beneficence.

In the place of the branches you take from it, I will tie all the good actions you practice, and I will carry the tree to God, who will load it anew, for beneficence is inexhaustible.

Accompany me, then, my friends, so that I may count you among those who enroll under my banner. Fear nothing; I will lead you along the path of salvation, for I am Charity. — (CARITA, martyred in Rome. Lyon, 1861.) [See at the end of the last chapter of the Gospel the Prayer of Carita]

There are several ways of doing charity, which many of you confuse with alms. There is, however, a great difference between the one and the other.

Alms, my friends, are sometimes useful, because they give relief to the poor, but they are almost always humiliating, both for the one who gives them and for the one who receives them.

Charity, on the contrary, binds the benefactor to the one benefited and disguises itself in so many ways!

One can be charitable even with one's relatives and with one's friends, by being indulgent toward one another, by mutually forgiving one another's weaknesses, by taking care not to wound anyone's self-love; 5 you, Spiritists, can be so in your manner of conducting yourselves toward those who do not think as you do, by inducing the less enlightened to believe, but without shocking them, without launching attacks against their convictions, and, rather, drawing them amiably to our meetings, where they will be able to hear us and where we shall know how to discover in their hearts the breach through which to penetrate them. That is one of the aspects of charity.

Listen now to what charity is toward the poor, the disinherited of this world, but rewarded by God if they accept their miseries without complaint, that which depends on you. I will make myself understood by an example.

I see, several times a week, a gathering of ladies, there being among them women of all ages. For us, as you know, they are all sisters. What do they do? They work quickly, very quickly; their fingers are nimble. See how cheerful are their faces and how their hearts beat in unison.

But with what aim do they work? It is because they see approaching the winter that will be harsh for the poor homes. The ants could not gather during the summer the necessary provisions, and the greater part of their belongings is pawned. The poor mothers grow anxious and weep, thinking of the little children who, during the winter season, will feel cold and hunger! Have patience, unfortunate women.

God inspired others better endowed than you; they gathered together and are making little garments; then, one of these days, when the earth is covered with snow and you lament, saying: “God is not just,” which is what comes from your lips whenever you suffer, you will see appear the daughter of one of those good workers who have made themselves laborers for the poor, for it is for you that they thus work, 10 and your laments will change into blessings, given that in the heart of the unfortunate love follows very closely upon hatred.

As those workers need encouragement, I see arriving to them from all sides the communications of the good Spirits. The men who form part of that society also bring them their concourse, by giving them one of those readings that please so much; 12 and we, to recompense the zeal of all and of each one in particular, promise the laborious workers a good clientele, which will pay them on the spot, in blessings, the only coin that has currency in Heaven, guaranteeing them, moreover, without fear of erring, that that coin will not fail them. — (CARITA. Lyon, 1861.)

My dear friends, every day I hear among you say: “I am poor, I cannot do charity,” and every day I see that you fail in indulgence toward your fellow beings. You forgive them nothing and you set yourselves up as judges, often severe ones, without wishing to know whether you would be satisfied if they acted in the same manner toward you.

Is not indulgence also charity? You, who can do charity only by practicing indulgence, do it thus, but do it amply. As regards material charity, I am going to tell you a story from the other world.

Two men had just died. God had said: As long as these two men live, the good actions of each of them will be put into different sacks, so that at the time of their death they may be weighed. When both reached their last moments, God ordered that the two sacks be brought to him. One was full, voluminous, stuffed, and in it resounded the metal that filled it; the other was very small and so empty that one could count the coins it contained.

This is mine, said one, I recognize it; I was rich and I gave much. This is mine, said the other, I was always poor, oh! I had almost nothing to share. But, oh! surprise! when the two sacks were placed in the balance, the more voluminous one proved light, the other showing itself heavy, so much so that it made the first one rise very high in the pan of the balance.

God then said to the rich man: you gave much, it is true, but you gave out of ostentation and so that your name might figure in all the temples of pride, and, moreover, in giving, you deprived yourself of nothing. Go to the left and be content that your alms are counted for something.

Then he said to the poor man: You gave little, my friend; but each of the coins that are in this balance represents a privation you imposed upon yourself; you did not give alms, yet you practiced charity, and, what is worth much more, you did the charity naturally, without considering that it might be reckoned to your account; you were indulgent; you did not constitute yourself judge of your fellow being; on the contrary, you overlooked all his actions: pass to the right and go receive your recompense. — (A PROTECTOR SPIRIT. Lyon, 1861.)

Can the rich woman, fortunate, who does not need to employ her time in the work of her house, not consecrate a few hours to work useful to her fellow beings? Let her buy, with what remains to her over from her pleasures, warm garments for the unfortunate one who shivers with cold; let her make, with her delicate hands, coarse but warm clothes; let her help a mother to cover the child who is about to be born. If by that her own child is left with a little less lace, that of the poor woman will have more with which to keep warm. To work for the poor is to work in the vineyard of the Lord.

And you, poor workingwoman, who have no superfluity, but who, full of love for your brothers, also wish to give of the little you have, give some hours of your day, of your time, the only treasure you possess; make some of those elegant works that tempt the fortunate ones; sell the product of your evening labors and you too will be able to offer your brothers your share of aid. You will have, perhaps, a few ribbons less; but you will give shoes to one who walks barefoot.

And you, women who have devoted yourselves to God, work also in his work; but let your works not be solely to adorn your chapels, to draw attention to your skill and patience. Work, my daughters, and let the product of your works be destined to succor your brothers in God. The poor are his well-beloved children; to work for them is to glorify him. Be for them the providence that says: To the birds of the sky God gives food. Let the gold and silver that are woven in your hands be changed into clothes and food for those who have none. Do this and your work will be blessed.

All of you who can produce, give; give your genius, give your inspirations, give your heart, and God will bless you. Poets, men of letters, who are read only by worldly people!… satisfy their leisure, but consecrate the product of some of your works to the succor of the unfortunate. Painters, sculptors, artists of every kind!… let your intelligence too come to the aid of your brothers; your glory will be no less for it, and there will be a few sufferings the fewer. — (JOHN. Bordeaux, 1861.)

Pity.

Pity is the virtue that most brings you near the angels; it is the sister of charity, which leads you to God.

Ah! let your heart soften before the spectacle of the miseries and sufferings of your fellow beings; your tears are a balm that you pour upon their wounds, and when, through kindly sympathy, you come to procure for them hope and resignation, what enchantment do you not experience!

It has a certain bitterness, it is true, this enchantment, because it is born alongside sadness; but, not having the acrid savor of worldly pleasures, it likewise does not bring the poignant disappointments of the emptiness that the latter leave behind them. A penetrating sweetness envelops it, which fills the soul with gladness.

Pity, pity truly felt, is love; 5 love is devotion; 6 devotion is forgetfulness of self; 7 and that forgetfulness, that abnegation in favor of the unfortunate, is the virtue par excellence, the one that throughout his whole life the divine Messiah practiced and taught in his doctrine so holy and so sublime.

When this doctrine is restored to its primitive purity, when all peoples submit to it, it will make the Earth happy, causing concord, peace, and love to reign there.

The sentiment most apt to make you progress, by subduing within you egoism and pride, the one that disposes your soul to humility, to beneficence, and to the love of neighbor, is pity! pity that moves you to your very entrails at the sight of the sufferings of your brothers, that impels you to stretch out your hand to succor them and wrings from you tears of sympathy.

Never, therefore, stifle in your hearts those celestial emotions; do not act like those hardened egoists who turn away from the afflicted, because the spectacle of their miseries would disturb for an instant their cheerful existence; 11 fear to remain indifferent, when you could be useful. Tranquility bought at the cost of a culpable indifference is the tranquility of the Dead Sea, in the depths of whose waters are hidden the fetid mire and corruption.

How far, however, is pity from causing the disturbance and the annoyance that the egoist dreads! No doubt, at the contact of another's misfortune, the soul, turning in upon itself, experiences a natural and profound contraction, which sets the whole being vibrating and shakes it painfully. Great, however, is the compensation, when you come to give courage and hope to an unfortunate brother who is touched at the clasp of a friendly hand and whose gaze, moist, at times, with emotion and gratitude, turns gently toward you, before fixing itself on Heaven in thanksgiving for having sent him a consoler, a support.

Pity is the melancholy but celestial precursor of charity, the first of the virtues, which has it for sister and whose benefits it prepares and ennobles. — (MICHAEL. Bordeaux, 1862.) Orphans.

My brothers, love the orphans. If you knew how sad it is to be alone and abandoned, above all in childhood!

God permits that there be orphans, in order to exhort us to serve them as fathers.

What divine charity to support a poor abandoned little creature, to keep it from suffering hunger and cold, to direct its soul, so that it may not stray into vice! He who stretches out his hand to an abandoned child pleases God, because he understands and practices his law.

Consider also that often the child you succor was dear to you in another incarnation, in which case, if you could remember, you would no longer be practicing charity, but fulfilling a duty.

Thus, then, my friends, every sufferer is your brother and has a right to your charity; not, however, to that charity which wounds the heart, not to that alms which burns the hand into which it falls, for frequently your mites are very bitter! how many times would they be refused, if in the hovel infirmity and misery were not awaiting them!

Give delicately, join to the benefit you do the most precious of all benefits: that of a good word, of a caress, of a friendly smile; 7 avoid that air of protection, which is equivalent to turning the blade in the heart that bleeds, and consider that, in doing good, you work for yourselves and for your own. — (A FAMILIAR SPIRIT. Paris, 1860.) [Benefits repaid with ingratitude.]

What ought one to think of those who, receiving ingratitude in payment for the benefits they have done, cease to practice good so as not to encounter the ungrateful?

In such, there is more egoism than charity, 2 since to do good only in order to receive demonstrations of gratitude is not to do it with disinterest, and good, done disinterestedly, is the only kind pleasing to God.

There is also pride, for those who act thus take pleasure in the humility with which the one benefited comes to lay at their feet the testimony of his gratitude.

He who seeks, on Earth, a recompense for the good he does will not receive it in Heaven. God, however, will hold in esteem the one who does not seek it in the world.

You ought always to help the weak, even though knowing beforehand that those to whom you do good will not thank you for it.

Be certain that, if the one to whom you render a service forgets it, God will take it more into account than if the one benefited had paid you for it with his gratitude.

If God permits at times that you be paid with ingratitude, it is to test your perseverance in practicing good.

And do you know, perchance, whether the benefit momentarily forgotten will not produce good fruits later? Be certain that, on the contrary, it is a seed that with time will germinate. Unfortunately, you never see anything but the present; you work for yourselves and not for others.

Benefits end by softening the most hardened hearts; they may be forgotten in this world, but, when it frees itself from its carnal envelope, the Spirit that received them will remember them, and that remembrance will be its chastisement. It will deplore its ingratitude; it will desire to repair the fault, to pay the debt in another existence, not seldom seeking a life of devotion to its benefactor. Thus, without your suspecting it, you will have contributed to its moral advancement and you will come to recognize the exactness of this maxim: a benefit is never lost.

Besides, you too will have worked for yourselves, for you will gain the merit of having done good disinterestedly and without the disappointments discouraging you.

Ah! my friends, if you knew all the ties that bind your present life to your previous existences; if you could grasp at a glance the immensity of the relations that link beings to one another, for the effect of a mutual progress, you would admire much more the wisdom and the goodness of the Creator, who grants you to live again in order to reach him. — (PROTECTOR GUIDE. Sens, 1862.)

[Exclusive beneficence.]

Is beneficence well-judged when practiced exclusively among persons of the same opinion, the same belief, or the same party?

No, for it is precisely the spirit of sect and of party that needs to be abolished, since all men are brothers.

The true Christian sees only brothers in his fellow beings and does not seek to know, before succoring the needy one, what his belief or his opinion may be, on whatever subject.

Would the Christian, perchance, obey the precept of Jesus Christ, according to which we ought to love our enemies, if he repelled the unfortunate one for professing a belief different from his own? Let him succor him, therefore, without demanding an account of his conscience, for, if he be an enemy of religion, this will be the means of bringing him to love it; in repelling him, he would make him hate it. — (SAINT LOUIS. Paris, 1860.)