Our Lady of the Good Deed

Holy Firehose – Our Lady of the Good Deed

Is it too ancient history to think about the Boy Scouts of America? Remember when they were such a respected and active movement in our American culture? Their motto was to always “Be Prepared”, and their mantra was that each scout should perform at least one Good Deed every day. The common image was to help an older person with their groceries across the street safely.

Even though the Boy Scouts, not that different than the Catholic Church, has gone through a decade or two of scandals and loss of favor in much of the society, is there something we could be sure not to lose in the baby’s bathwater? If there is one thing to resuscitate and re-invigorate our communities, modeled after the scouting history of the past century, we suggest it might be the sense of doing good deeds for others.

We have such stresses in our society now. With unemployment, stagnant wages for the middle class, serious flaws in our educational systems and preparedness for meeting global competition in the future, a great number of us have gotten more selfish. More and more we look for ways to try to get ahead of others so that we don’t fall farther behind ourselves. This is a tragic situation. . . . that is growing worse every month.

We need our communities of faith to help us find healthier things to focus on than our own selfish security. We need to help each other build on each other’s gifts and resources and creativity and wisdom and inspiration and influence however it can be shared for the common good.

As a first step to keep moving in this direction, we suggest that we keep thinking of others and not ourselves. Let us think of the common good, not the selfish personal success. Let us think of others. Make an effort to help others. Think of Good Deeds that might contribute to the common good.

How about communities of faith that constantly promote thinking of the common good and reminding ourselves every day of doing Good Deeds for others?