Gratitude to God for the Good Others Do
When I hear that others are doing very great things for the glory of God, I will arm myself with a holy envy, and thank God. (OOCC, X, p. 47; STA, 217)
Prayer of gratitude comes from the heart of a person, who has recognized and acknowledged the abundant blessings of God in his life and that of others. There are many things that happen in our life, for which one needs to be grateful to God. A person needs to thank the Lord for the many blessings he brings in the life of others in and through his efforts and activities. Similarly, he must thank the Lord for the great things his brethren do for the glory of God. Often, due to jealousy, a person fails to recognize and acknowledge the good done by his neighbor. Sometimes, he speaks ill of such good activities of others and attributes wrong motives for their actions. At times even he carries tales about the motivation of his neighbor in doing such good activities. For St. Vincent Pallotti, such behavior is unchristian and malicious. It is unbecoming of a Christian to behave in like manner. In his lifetime, he took special care to recognize and acknowledge the good works of his neighbor. He often had a word of appreciation and encouragement for the person who had done a good action. He never failed to thank the Lord for the good action done by his neighbor and to pray for him that he would continue to glorify the Lord in and through his good actions.
What is my attitude towards the good actions done by my neighbor? Am I jealous of the good actions of others? Do I recognize and acknowledge the good works of my neighbor and thank the Lord for them? Do I pray that my neighbor may continue to glorify the Lord through his good actions?
Is there any such thing as Christians cheering each other up? … Does it mean anything to you that we are brothers in the Lord and share the same spirit? … [If so] don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing. (Phil. 2: 1, 4)