Not Despising the Devout Acts of the Simple

 When I know that some simple person … has performed an act of affection or devotion … I will not only try not to disparage it, but also do what … [he] did, no matter how lowly … [he is]. (OOCC, X, p. 140; STA, 192)

 In human society often the distinction between the simple people and the great persons is made. The simple people are the poor, the uneducated and the socially low persons, while the great are the wealthy, the educated and the socially high persons. An ordinary act done by a so-called great person is looked upon as something great, while an extraordinary act done by a simple person is considered as something very ordinary. Human society uses a double standard in measuring the activities of the simple and the great. As a result, there is a tendency among society to belittle the simple people and their acts. St. Vincent Pallotti, while living on earth, took scrupulous care not to fall into this improper and unjust estimation of people. When he noticed a simple person performing a good act, he never attempted to belittle that person and put him down. Instead, he appreciated the effort that person has put in, and praised him for the successful performance of that act. Besides giving him the due acknowledgment for the good he had done, St. Vincent also did the very good act in imitation of that person, however lowly and ordinary he was. Therefore, St. Vincent looked at humankind not according to human standards, but in the way God looked at them.

 Do I use a double standard in judging the acts of society? Is my dealing with the other biased? Do I belittle persons of lowly backgrounds? Do I acknowledge the good a person of simple background does? Am I ready to imitate the good action of a lowly person?

You are living a brand new kind of life … In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all. (Col. 3: 10-11)