Stamped With Goodness

In an effort to be less judgmental, I sometimes pray to see others with the eyes of Christ, but gaining such sight is a slow process. Therefore, I found it interesting to read in Give Us This Day that St. Therese Couderc received a vision before dying in which the word “Goodness” was stamped in gold letters on every creature. That would certainly be a helpful reminder!

It is difficult for us to believe that everyone is marked by goodness when we constantly hear about acts of violence, cruelty, and greed. How can any goodness come from people who perform such acts? Unlike Christ, we do not see the original goodness that was the birthright of such people and that still exists despite the circumstances that led their souls to be twisted. In judging some persons to be irredeemable, we attempt to place limits on God’s immense power to heal, transform, and reconcile, and we cut ourselves off from the peace that is the fruit of forgiveness and humility.

Whether we label ourselves and others as “good” or “bad,” we really have no control over the effect our actions will have. Many people with the best of intentions have harmed others by doing what they considered to be good works—for example, by removing native American children from their families to give them a Western education, which was a common practice in the 19th and 20th centuries. On the other hand, a seemingly despicable person such as John Newton, who was a slave ship master for many years, ended up fighting to abolish the African slave trade and wrote the song Amazing Grace.

Ultimately, the best we can do is (1) hew to Jesus’ teaching to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves and (2) trust that God will make something good out of our lives in ways that often are outside our understanding. In difficult times, we can take comfort in the knowledge that we are stamped with the goodness of our Creator. Although in our eyes this goodness is often slow to manifest, we would do well to follow the advice of Teilhard de Chardin and “trust in the slow, slow work of God.”