The Motive Behind Doing Every Good

All good that has been done, is being done and will be done by all creatures, and all that I have done, am doing, and will do for the greatest glory of God … our most loving and infinitely perfect Father. (OOCC, X, p. 57; STA, 16)

St. Vincent Pallotti, at the beginning of his spiritual life made a general declaration, known as “General Protestation.” It involved a treaty or a contract between the aspirant of God’s experience and the Divine Majesty. For St. Vincent, the General Protestation meant a holistic understanding of the future of his spiritual life and the road map of all his striving for perfection. In it he assertively stated his intention to bring the greatest glory to God. It did not merely imply his desire to do everything for the greater glory of God, but rather it was a proclamation of his love for God and fidelity to this love. St. Vincent ardently loved God and wanted to manifest his faithfulness to that love by doing every good he did with the motive of bringing the greatest glory to God. Thus, by bringing glory to God, he declared his love for God and his faithfulness to him. St. Vincent’s whole spiritual life was centered on the ‘fixed thought’ of glorifying God. It was the dynamic force that moved the totality of his spiritual life. Hence, the infinite glory of God became the motive of whatever good he achieved in his life.

Do I have a holistic understanding of my spiritual life? Do I have a road map of my striving for perfection? Do I have a ‘fixed thought’ that serves as the dynamic force behind my spiritual life? Is my spiritual life centered on the motive of bringing the greatest glory to God?

Arm yourselves also with the same intention … so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. (I Pet 4:1 – 2)