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When great calamities occur charity is filled with emotion, and generous impulses are seen on all sides in the repairing of these disasters. But apart from these general disasters, there are millions of private catastrophes which go unnoticed, for there are those who lie on beds of suffering without complaining. These discreet and hidden misfortunes are the ones which true generosity knows how to discover without even waiting to be asked for help. Who is that woman with the distinctive air, simply dressed, although well cared for, who is accompanied by an equally modestly dressed young girl? They enter a sordid looking house where the lady is obviously well-known because they are greeted with respect as they enter. Where is she going? Up to the garret where a mother lies surrounded by her many children.
On their arrival happiness bursts forth upon the thin faces. This is because the woman has come to soothe their pains. She has brought everything they need, tempered with gentle and consoling words which allows her proteges, who are not professional beggars, to accept these benefits without blushing.
The father is in hospital and while he is there the mother is unable to provide the necessities of life with her work. By the grace of this good woman these poor children will no longer feel cold nor hungry; they will go to school well-clothed and, for the smaller ones, the mother's breasts which feed them will not go dry. If any member of this family falls sick, this good woman will not refuse the material care which they may need. From their house she will go on to the hospital to take the father some comforts and also to put his mind at rest as to his family. At the corner of the road a carriage awaits, and inside is a store of everything destined for her various protgs, for one after the other they all receive visits. She never asks what their religion is nor what their opinions are, because she considers them to be her brothers and sisters and the children of God, as are all men and women. When she has finished her rounds she can say to herself: "I have begun my day well."
What is her name? Where does she come from? No one knows. To all those unhappy ones she has given a name which indicates nothing. But she is the personification of a consoling angel. Each night a host of blessings rise up to the heavens in her name from Catholics, Jews and Protestants alike.
Why such modest clothing? So as not to insult their misery with her luxury. Why does she take her daughter? So that she too may learn how to practise beneficence, for the young lady also wishes to be charitable. However, the mother says to her: "What can you give, my daughter, when you have nothing of your own? If I give you something of mine to give away, what merit will that be for you? In that case it is really I who am giving, so what good would that bring you? It would not be just. So when I visit the sick you will help me treat them. To offer care to someone is to give something of yourself. Do you not think that is sufficient to start with? Well then, nothing could be simpler; you can begin by learning how to make useful articles and clothes for the children.
In this manner you will be giving of yourself." When she is a true Christian, this is how a mother should prepare her children to practise those virtues which Christ taught. Is she a Spiritist? What does that matter!
In her own home she is a woman of the world because her position demands it of her. Those about her know nothing of what she is doing, as she does not wish for any approval other than that from God and her own conscience. However, one day an unexpected circumstance brought one of her proteges to her door, selling hand-made articles. When this woman saw her, she recognised her benefactor. The lady told her to be silent and Tell no one! Jesus also spoke in this manner.
"Let not your right hand know what your left hand does is an image which admirably characterises modest beneficence. But if there is true modesty, then there is also false modesty, a mere imitation of modesty. There are certain people who hide the hand that gives, but take great care to leave a small piece showing while they look about them to see if anyone has seen them trying to hide it. This is shameful, a parody of Christ's maxim! If prideful benefactors are despised by mankind, what then must they be before God? These too have already received their recompense on Earth. They are seen and are satisfied by this fact. That is all they will have. [...]
When beneficence is practised without ostentation it is doubly meritorious. Apart from material charity there is also moral charity, seeing that this protects the susceptibility of the beneficiary, so enabling them to receive a benefit without feeling resentment from a loss of self-respect.
This safeguards human dignity, since there are those who will accept a job but refuse alms. Now depending on the manner in which it is done, converting work into alms can mean humiliating the receiver, and there is always pride and evil in the act of humiliating another. On the other hand, true charity is delicate and inventive in disguising a benefit, avoiding even a simple appearance which might cause hurt, given that all moral friction increases suffering originating from necessity.
Therefore the giver of true charity will find tender affectionate words which will place the receiver at ease, especially in the presence of the benefactor, whereas prideful charity will crush the receiver. Real generosity acquires total sublimity when the benefactor, inverting the parts, finds a way of placing himself in the position of being the one who is indebted when facing the person whom they are helping. This is what is meant by the words: Let not your left hand know what your right hand does [..]
Do not proceed as do those who are hard and selfish, who turn aside from the afflicted because the sight of their miseries perturbs their cheerful lives for an instant. Be fearful of remaining indifferent when you could be of help. Tranquility, bought at the expense of a guilty indifference, is like the tranquility of the Dead Sea, at the bottom of which lies a vast hidden mass of putrid corruption.
Meditate on the possibility that frequently the person you are helping may be someone who was very dear to you in a past incarnation, and that if they were able to recognise you, it would no longer be an act of charity but a simple obligation. In this way, my friends, every sufferer is your brother or sister and so has a right to your kindness. However, not the kind of charity that hurts feelings, nor yet the kind of alms that burns the hand which receives it, for unfortunately help is frequently accompanied by bitterness! How many times these sufferers would rather have refused, if it were not for the fact of sickness or death being their only other option. So, give with delicacy and together with any benefits you may offer, also give the most precious benefit of all, that of a kindly word, a loving gesture and a friendly smile. Avoid being patronizing, which only turns the dagger of suffering in the heart, so causing more bleeding. Consider that by doing good, you're working for your own benefit as well as for those whom you love. [..]
The only act of goodness acceptable to God is the one done with complete disinterest. There is of course also pride in these people, since those who behave in this manner take pleasure in the humbleness shown by the receivers of the benefits when they come to lay before them the testimony of their gratitude. Those who seek reward on Earth for the good they have done will not then receive it in Heaven. However, God will esteem all who do not seek their rewards here on Earth.
You should always help the weak, although knowing beforehand that you will receive no thanks for your help. But you can always be sure that if the person to whom you did a service forgets, God will take this even more into account than if the beneficiary had paid their debt. If God permits that sometimes you are paid with ingratitude, this is only to test your perseverance in the practice of goodness.
The Spirit of St Paul, an incarnation of Ascended Master Hilarion.
from "The Gospel According to Spiritism" by Allan Kardec, 1862
http://www.masterhilarion.com
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