The Value of Our Deeds Before God – On Good and Evil Motives – St. Joseph Sebastian Pelczar
III. How to Conduct Oneself Regarding the Motive Before an Action?**
We have spoken thus far about motives in general; now we will apply this teaching to specific cases.
When we undertake to perform some good action, the evil spirit immediately sets his snares to corrupt our motive and, consequently, the action itself. To this end, he diverts our attention elsewhere or presents the action as insignificant, so that we choose no motive at all and act out of habit or carelessly. If he fails in this, he suggests various evil motives cloaked in an alluring guise. If, despite this, we choose a good motive, he at least seeks to make us select a less perfect one.
How, then, should we conduct ourselves in such cases?
First, do not belittle any action, for however small an action may seem to you, it is great if God demands it of you. Therefore, do not act without a motive, lest you be like an archer who shoots an arrow without aim.
A certain hermit, before every action, would pause for a moment and raise his eyes to heaven. When asked the reason, he replied, “I do this to ensure that my arrow does not miss its mark.” If this seems difficult to you, at least make a general intention each morning, as I have previously indicated, and renew it several times throughout the day.
Among the various motives, reject evil ones with disdain. Despise vain praise as empty smoke, desiring only to please God. Those who compete for the victor’s palm in public games before the emperor care more for the judgment of that one emperor than for all others; knowing, then, that God with His angels is the witness of your race toward the goal, that He will pass judgment and award the prize, you turn your gaze to your equals and care more for their praise than for the judgment of God Himself.
What is the result of this? After many toils and labors, you will not receive the crown and will gain nothing but smoke.
Guard yourself also against self-love creeping into your actions; therefore, do not perform divine works for earthly motives or for your own pleasure, for then you will gain no benefit. On the contrary, whatever you do, whether you “eat or drink,” do it for God; let your motto be the words of St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi: “If even one word spoken not for the love of God but for another purpose could make me a Seraph, I would not dare to say it.”
In short, have a perfect and pure motive; but if an evil motive tries to join it, do not abandon the good action because of it, for that would be a victory for the evil spirit. Instead, purify the motive, offer the action to God, and perform it properly.
**IV. How to Conduct Oneself During an Action?**
If the evil spirit fails to corrupt our intention at the outset, he sets other snares. He then imitates a robber who, unable to attack a traveler at the start of his journey, lies in wait along the way, hidden in the thicket; so too does the devil strive to ruin an action once it has begun. To this end, he either seeks to discourage or exasperate us, so that we abandon our action ourselves, or he suggests a secret self-satisfaction and regard for others’ opinions, as if opening the door to vanity.
To avoid this trap, never seek your own satisfaction as the ultimate goal in anything; if it arises spontaneously, refer it to God, asking that He alone be glorified in and through you. Accept the drop of consolation that God attaches to a good deed with gratitude but caution, lest you forget God because of it. If, instead of satisfaction, you feel aversion or reluctance, do not interrupt the action, for it will be more precious then, as it requires greater sacrifice.
When vanity knocks at your heart, say firmly, “Begone, there is no place for you here,” or with St. Bernard, “I did not begin for you, nor will I stop for you.”
If the temptation of vainglory assails you, do not abandon the good deed because of it; rather, cling inwardly with all your strength to God’s arm through a pure motive, and outwardly perform your action as perfectly as possible, “so that people may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Above all, never lose sight of God’s presence, for it is the shield of a good motive.
If possible, perform your deeds in secret, so that your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing; but if you do something good publicly, pay no attention to what people say about you. When writing a letter to a friend in the presence of many people, you forget about them to think only of your friend; similarly, in good actions, forget about people to remember only God.
Also, cast away anxiety or fear about the outcome of your actions; do what God requires and what you can, and leave the result to God’s will. If the action is interrupted through no fault of your own, do not fall into anger or sadness, for this would show that you seek yourself more than God. One who seeks only God says, in both success and failure, “Thy will be done.”
Finally, since a motive can easily become corrupted or fade, correct and renew it frequently during the action. Just as when writing a letter you dip your pen in ink from time to time, so too dip the pen of your spirit, your will, often in the Heart of Christ, so that your writing may be legible to God.
**V. How to Conduct Oneself After Completing an Action?**
If the devil fails to corrupt our action at its beginning or middle, he lies in wait—as the Prophet says—at its heel, that is, at its end. Thus, he either stirs false consolation and self-satisfaction, so that we attribute the action to our own strength rather than to God: “Our hand is exalted, and not the Lord has done all this”; or he urges us to seek human praise; or he tries to plunge us into sloth, convincing us that we have already done enough; or he causes us to grieve if the action fails.
To escape this trap, into which many souls fall, guard against self-satisfaction; therefore, attribute all good to God’s grace, and nothing to yourself. “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created,” so say with the twenty-four elders, and cast your crown, that is, the glory of your good deed, at the foot of God’s throne. To yourself, you may attribute only infidelity in receiving grace and laziness in cooperating with it.
If your deeds seem perfect to you, compare them to the deeds of the saints, and they will lose their luster, like stars at sunrise. Remember especially that God Himself will be their judge; if, therefore, before His eyes “the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure, how much more is man corrupt and the son of man a worm.” Then, instead of exalting yourself, you will cry out in fear, “Enter not into judgment with Your servant.”
Do not seek glory from people either; therefore, without good reason, do not speak of your deeds or even wish to know whether they pleased others. When others praise you, refer the praise to God and attribute imperfections to yourself. Let it even grieve you that human injustice gives glory to the creature instead of the Creator, to nothingness instead of the Almighty, to the servant instead of the Lord.
To guard against the vanity that is most dangerous at the end of an action, hide your good deeds and merits, like those who carry rich treasures through a forest full of robbers; otherwise, you may easily lose them. As long as Moses’ mother hid her child, she kept it safe, but once she revealed the secret, she had to part with it; similarly, as long as a soul hides its spiritual children, that is, its good deeds, it keeps them safe, but once it boasts of them, the evil Pharaoh, that is, Satan, snatches them away.
Finally, after every action, humble yourself, asking forgiveness for all the faults and errors you may have committed during it; give thanks to the Lord for deigning to use such a lowly instrument, and offer Him your action as proof of your love. Instead of growing idle in God’s service, become more fervent with each passing day.
If, on the other hand, something fails through no fault of your own, do not grieve over it, even if it brings you humiliation or reproach, nor be discouraged from further work.
Can a good deed performed without any motive, for example, out of habit, be sanctified by a good intention made afterward? St. Francis de Sales responds that it can. “For if a contrite and humbled soul, by the power of God’s grace that descends upon it, can erase all its iniquities, why could it not, by the same grace, transform a good action into something better and elevate it to eternal merit, even if that action, though good by nature, would otherwise have only temporal value due to an overly earthly intention? Just as crooked wood or iron can be straightened with the aid of heat according to our will, so too can an intention, warped by worldliness, be straightened toward heaven by the holy fire of God’s love.”
**VI. Continuation**
We have also called simplicity the window of the spiritual house, that is, the virtue which, in the words of St. Francis de Sales, takes the straight path to truth, to duty, and to God Himself. What are its manifestations?
First and foremost, a simple soul always and everywhere seeks God, that is, the fulfillment of His will, the spread of His glory, and the attainment of His love, not its own glory, consolation, or will. Wholly devoted to God, it does not arrogantly probe the mysteries of faith, presumptuously judge God’s decrees, or ask, as Satan did in paradise, why God did this or that, but humbly believes, firmly trusts, and in all things submits to God’s will, casting itself like a child into the arms of the best Father.
Secondly, a simple soul is neither hypocritical, duplicitous, nor insincere—it never speaks lies or ambiguous words, seeks not to deceive or mislead anyone, and thus uses no deceit, flattery, or cunning. It does not suspect or maliciously judge others but strives to see the good in its neighbor. It is not calculating, nor does it render services to oblige others to reciprocate or, worse, to exploit them for selfish ends. It abhors feigned courtesy, which often masks aversion or indifference, and the worldly “diplomacy” that claims speech was given to conceal thoughts.
Finally, a simple soul guards against all pretense, exaggeration, excess, affectation, unnaturalness, or the pursuit of exclusivity and extraordinary things. It does not change like the moon or wear a mask but is always and everywhere the same. It does not speak of itself with praise or humble itself to be exalted by others. If it does something good, it does not look to people; if it commits an error, it does not make excuses or blame others. Toward its confessor, it is transparent as crystal and accepts his admonitions with trust; toward superiors, it is wholly submissive in heart and deed. Clearly, simplicity is particularly opposed to hypocrisy, insincerity, worldly prudence, and selfishness.
This is a beautiful virtue, most pleasing to God and rich in fruits. If we look into the sacred books of the Old Testament, we read there: “The perverse heart is an abomination to the Lord, but His delight is in those who walk in simplicity.” “The Lord protects those who walk in simplicity”; “with the simple is His converse”; “he who walks in simplicity will be saved.”
This virtue gained even greater value in the New Testament, since the Incarnate Word clothed Himself in it as in a garment. It became, as the Church Fathers say, a “Christ-like virtue,” symbolically revealed at the baptism of the Savior when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. The Lord also commanded: “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves”; and elsewhere He warned: “Unless you become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” What does it mean to become childlike in spirit if not to imitate Christ in innocence, humility, and simplicity? A child knows not pride or vanity, does not desire glory, does not seek prominence, does not vie for precedence, envies no one, suspects no one, but trusts all, especially its parents, whom it prefers above all others. Show a child a queen in a crown, and it will scorn her to run to its beggar mother clad in rags, preferring her affection to the queen’s rich gifts. If only we had this childlike simplicity, our progress on the path of perfection would be very swift.
(…)
Alas, this virtue is rare in our times, and all the more justly can we repeat the words of St. Gregory the Great: “The world mocks the simplicity of the righteous, for the wisdom of the world is to cover the heart with deceit, to veil thoughts with words, to present falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood.”
Insincerity is one of the effects of the corruption brought by original sin, and the world has made it a principle of life. But you, Christian, do not follow the evil world, and thus strive for the virtue of simplicity. To this end, pray that the Lord grant you a “clean heart” and a “right spirit.” Remember that God’s eye is constantly upon you and penetrates the secrets of your heart; therefore, let there be nothing in your thoughts, words, or deeds that smacks of insincerity, hypocrisy, or selfishness.
If you notice traces of these vices in yourself, humble yourself and work to uproot them. But beware, in striving for this virtue, not to err through exaggeration; thus, combine simplicity with holy prudence, fulfilling the Lord’s command: “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves.”
**Bishop Józef Sebastian Pelczar – Spiritual Life, or Christian Perfection According to the Most Eminent Spiritual Masters, Volume II, Kraków, Jagiellonian University Press, 1886, pp. 143–151.**
**Footnotes:**
1) St. John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on *Vidi Dom.*
2) See St. Gregory, *Moralia*, Book 1.
3) St. Matthew 5:16.
4) See St. Gregory, *Moralia*, Book 1.
5) See St. Jure, Book 1, Chapter.
6) Deuteronomy 32:27.
7) Revelation 4:11.
8) Job 25:5.
9) Psalm 142:2.
10) St. Francis de Sales, *Spiritual Life*, Part I, Chapter 22.
11) Proverbs 11:20.
12) Proverbs 2:7.
13) Proverbs 3:32.
14) Proverbs 28:18.
15) St. Gregory the Great, *Regula Pastoralis*, Part III, Chapter 2.
16) St. Matthew 10:16.
17) St. Francis de Sales, *Spiritual Life*, Part 15, Chapter 1.
18) Book 10, Chapter 16, on Job 12.
19) See Romans 9:5.
Catholic during the Great Apostasy 
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