Today, I thank and praise God for all the parents who raise their children in the anonymity of millions of homes, expecting neither praise nor rewards but only striving that their off-springs have a better life than their own.
Today, I thank and praise God for the many health workers and caregivers who anonymously put in long hours so that the sick may be healed and those afflicted with severe illnesses may have more years of life and comfort.
Today, I thank and praise God for the unsung teachers and educators who have chosen a life of making lives rather than a life of making money so that the youth may have someone guide them as they discover their talents and who they are.
Today, I thank and praise God for neighbors reaching out to other neighbors in solidarity and community realizing that it takes a village to make a man, away from the limelight and fanfare of our pleasure-driven society.
Today, I thank and praise God for the many people of goodwill who go good even in the face of the terrible onslaught by the evil forces at work in the world.
Today I thank and praise God for the sensitive souls and artists among us who celebrate the hidden beauty and goodness around us through their songs, poems, paintings, performances and expressions in simple and hidden places.
Today I thank and praise God for the billions of anonymous persons who in their unheralded and ordinary lives give witness to the truth and goodness of our existence that poets and artists celebrate in their works.
Today, I thank and praise God that there is more good done that does not make it to the news than all the bad press that we read everyday. It is these small anonymous acts of love and kindness that keeps the world going for otherwise, with all the horrible stories we hear or read in the news, this world should have been long gone.
Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your alms giving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
Matthew 6:1-4