Beyond the Clouds by Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. | Page 48

At times, I have found them eating their own meal well after finishing their
service to us. “These young men and women must have families of their own,”
I thought to myself. "All have a personal history. They go through different
time zones; they are also exposed to all sorts of demands."
The world is made great by people who do not do it for the accolades. It is
made great by those who do it knowing that the Father, seeing what is done in
Heaven, will reward them (cf Matthew 6:4). To live in this way is seen from
Mother Teresa’s poem written on the wall of her children’s home in Calcutta.
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them
anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind
anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine
enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere
anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and
them anyway.
The people that live by this are the real saints. What we receive gratuitously,
we must give gratuitously. A genuine friend seeks nothing in return. A mother
rarely looks after her child for a reward or recognition. They will be blessed.
This is all the more true when we talk about Christian life. We say the Church
is missionary by nature because its Saviour, Jesus Christ, was a hero on the
cross; the ultimate symbol of self-sacrificing love. If the Master was so, a
genuine disciple cannot be different. It might be good to ask ourselves every
now and then, “in whose name am I doing this for?”
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