Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?
Fulton J. SheenRead
His words even imply that philanthropy has deeper depths than is generally realized. The great emotions of compassion and mercy are traced to Him; there is more to human deeds than the doers are aware. He identified every act of kindness as an expression of sympathy with Himself. All kindnesses are either done explicitly or implicitly in His name, or they are refused explicitly or implicitly in His name.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that true kindness stems from a higher moral consciousness connected to a divine source.
Fulton J. Sheen suggests that philanthropy and acts of kindness are fundamentally linked to a deeper spiritual understanding. He points out that every act of kindness can be viewed as an expression of sympathy and compassion towards a higher power, implying that the essence of charitable deeds extends beyond the immediate actions and intentions of individuals. This perspective compels people to reflect on the moral and spiritual dimensions of their actions, suggesting that kindness is inherently tied to a greater purpose and awareness.
Themes
KindnessPhilanthropyCompassionMercyHuman Deeds
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, one could quote this to inspire volunteers.
More from Fulton J. Sheen
All quotes →A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults.
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Many married women who have deliberately spurned the "hour" of childbearing are unhappy and frustrated. They never discovered the joys of marriage because they refused to surrender to the obligation of their state. In saving themselves, they lost themselves!
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No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is opaque like a curtain; nothing can be seen through it. A mountain is just a mountain, a sunset just a sunset; but to poets, artists, and saints, the world is transparent like a window pane - it tells of something beyond....a mountain tells of the Power of God, the sunset of His Beauty, and the snowflake of His Purity.
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The big print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.
Fulton J. SheenRead
Hearing nuns' confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn.
Fulton J. SheenRead
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