Good Action or Good Intention? - By Fr. Patrick Cahill

[00:00:00]So, in the Catechism, we read that in order to judge any action, any moral action, there are three conditions. We We people we're We're We can be quite complicated. So, it's not just a case of if it's a good action, all is good. We're We can be It's It's a lot more nuanced than that. So, the Catechism teaches that if a an action a moral action is good, it must fulfill three criteria. One, the the action itself, the object must be good.

[00:00:31]Secondly, the intention must be good.

[00:00:34]And thirdly, the circumstances must be appropriate for that particular action.

[00:00:40]So, is it okay to stab someone?

[00:00:43]Ordinarily, no.

[00:00:45]But, if your intention is to hurt someone, then definitely not. Your intention is to save them if they have a bullet or if they've They've been injured in some way and you have to cut out gangrene or whatever it might be, then that intention is good. And if the circumstances are are correct, then then that action is okay. Okay. If I don't like someone, so I throw a knife at them, that's clearly not okay.

[00:01:08]So, stabbing generally, we don't We don't We don't agree with that kind of thing. But, what's interesting today is today's gospel.

[00:01:16]So, we have the Pharisees who try to get things right.

[00:01:21]Over and over again though, we see in the gospels the the intention is often wrong. The action is right. So, they fast a lot, they tithe a lot, they pray a lot. So, the actions themselves, the object is good. Is it okay to fast? Of course. Is it okay to to pray?

[00:01:38]Absolutely. Is it okay to tithe? We're supposed to. So, all the act The objects of the actions are fine.

[00:01:45]So, that's never the problem with with the Pharisees.

[00:01:48]The intention though, this is the problem. This is a huge problem with the Pharisees. That the intention isn't always for the glory of God. In fact, in Lord himself comments that very often so much of what they do is done to draw attention.

[00:02:07]Like wearing broader phylacteries, praying in public places, um putting uh oil on their heads when they're fasting, or making very obvious that they're doing something good, you know?

[00:02:17]In our society, we tend to have the other extreme, but it's good to keep in mind what both extremes are. One is to to do what we do, to pray, to in order to look holy, in order to appear holy, in order to appear like we're somehow spiritually better better informed or or simply better than others, okay? The other extreme is which is more common today is to imply that your faith is an entirely private affair.

[00:02:49]So, you never have any manifestation of your faith at all. If anybody asks you, are you faithful, you say, "Well, I I don't I do believe in God." And you you keep everything kind of low-key, noncommittal.

[00:02:59]So, both extremes are wrong. It's all that the the Lord is very very clear with the Pharisees so often, that if your intention is to win men's admiration, then all merit from that action is lost.

[00:03:15]You know, when you pray, he says, "Go into that secret place. Hide effectively.

[00:03:20]Uh pray to your Father who's in heaven, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." Now, again, that's not to say that we can't have public manifestations of faith, either.

[00:03:29]So, it's it's it's we we need to be to be careful here to avoid either extreme.

[00:03:33]It's not entirely private, but it's not only public, either.

[00:03:37]Where is our heart in all of this?

[00:03:40]So, what is our intention in all of this?

[00:03:43]That's That is always worth reflecting on. No matter what extreme we kind of tend towards, where is my heart? So, when I pray, am I doing this out of love for the Lord?

[00:04:00]Now, we might not We might not always have We won't always have the feeling, but love is more than a feeling. Love is a decision. Am I doing what I do out of love for the Lord?

[00:04:11]When I pray, when I serve, when I tithe, when whatever it is that I do, am I doing it out of love for the Lord?

[00:04:18]So, if people see, okay. If people don't see, I will do it anyway.

[00:04:23]Cuz it's not about being seen.

[00:04:25]My intention, Lord, is to do this out of love for you.

[00:04:29]Like we see pictures of, you know, the Holy Father when he kneels down and prays at a certain shrine or or sanctuary. Uh is he doing that just to be seen?

[00:04:40]No, I mean, that's just part of his part of his job. Everywhere Everywhere he goes, whenever he kneels or prays or he'll be photographed. But he's not doing it for that reason.

[00:04:50]He's doing it for love of the Lord.

[00:04:52]John Paul II was a master at that as well. Just he would be so prayerful every every place he would go. But not It's not to be seen, but he was seen.

[00:05:03]But the intention is love of God. And that's something that that that only you can work out for yourself. What is your intention? No one else can tell you what that is, but you know your own heart.

[00:05:16]And if there is any desire in us to be considered holy rather than to be holy or to be considered uh open-minded when to be honest, we actually have a real faith, but we're hiding it so well, people don't even know, then these are extremes to be avoided.

[00:05:35]Lord, I want to do what I do out of love for you. If you're giving me an opportunity to be a missionary, to witness to my faith to family, friends, uh work colleagues, then Lord, give me me courage to take advantage of that. Not because I want to be seen, but because people need you.

[00:05:50]People deserve you in their lives.

[00:05:55]So, we ask the Lord today to deepen our love for him.

[00:06:01]That all that we do might be done out of love for him.

[00:06:05]Amen.