The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-03-24
\ y 4 y ~ y A&A%AAA
KINDN ESS


4 = y
written for the Intermountain Catholic.
Butte, Mont, March 20.-'"Then scat
ter seeds Of kindness for our reapinI
bye and bye" Kindness! How muc'
this grand, sweet word embraces. hoy
far reaching even to the most secIude
fnnernlost depths of the soul. Kindnes
will enter where another virtue fear
to tread. How often are we Gale,
upon to witness the effect Of kindness
' even upon the dumb brutes; they try t
let US see it is not wasted and by SOM
outward sign or emotion try to SHOW
their appreciation and gratitude o
some little act Of kindness we have don,
for them.
Kindness is never wasted, it repay.
the donor a thousand times. We have
only to take the coarsest and harshest
side of life to witness the effects; take
for instance, the ordinary tramp. who
is pictured to us by the daily papers in
verse and prose and described as be-
ing a person without heart and if il
were possible, without a soul; Just be-
stow on him a few thoughtful acts OF
kindness that brings back to his mem
DRY days of long ago, and if we viii
but scrutinize carefully we viii at once
behold the rougher and coarser nature
Tecede to give way to the beautiful in
ner side Of that coarse harsh nature.
How little we think of how much good
viii spring from one small act of kind
ness; it smoothes many hard place in
this dreary life, and how little it costs.
and yet we deal it out previously as if
we were afraid to scatter it, for fear of
1t being lost There need be no such
fear, kindness returns multifold: it may
not come in an hour, or a day. or in
months or years, but as surely as it
goes forth it returns ten thousand fold
Taken in comparison there is no virtue
practiced that yields such a return to
the giver as that beautiful act Of kind
ness, done in love and sympathy for
some fellow creature in despair. Who
can estimate the good that has been
wrought through one small act of kind
ness Take, for instance, in the everyday
affairs of life, a kind word spoken or
even a smile given to one in despair,
trouble or grief, how far it goes towards
Tightening a heavy burden we will never
know until some day when we stand
before the throne Of the Almighty to re-
ceive the sentence which will mean our
Immortality; when many grievous
fault Of ours viii be outweighed by that
dearest and sweetest tribute-an act of
kindness-we will hear these sweet
words ringing in our ears: "Inasmuch
as ye did it to one OF the least of these,
ye did il also TO me-" Why do we not
practice it more? 1t requires very lit
tie exeTtion on our part and how much
good we can DO, if we viii but try. 1t
has always occurred to me that it was
our duty to be kind and consoling TO
our family, to our relatives and to our
friends, but is it enough that we should
stop with such narrow circle as this?
We must stretch our arms out to help
humanity in general and not clasp them
SO tightly around a few. We are liv-
ing in an age where we need ali the
kindness possible to disDel the darkness,
misery and ceunteract the Unkin6ness
and injustice done and try and bring
into other lives as much sunshine and
happiness as possible, and there is not
one Of us has the right TO deprive friend
or foe of one single act of kindness. no 1
matter how trivial it seems. It is the
repetition Of little acts which consti- |
tute not only the sum of human char |
acter, but which will determine the re- |
ward to be gained hereafter. We are in |
this world to DO what we can for each |
other, and all with the same object in !
view; to prepare ourselves for the life |
10 come, and if kindness to our fellow |
men mean so much, beseech each and |
every one Of you TO be kind. 1t is a |
moral duty incumbent upon every one |
Of use to be kind, loving and fOrgiving. |
If we ever wish to attain any depth of |
human happiness, to say nothing of life |
eternal. Apart from kindness to each |
other and to live in that progressive |
spirit Of doing good for others, what is /
there left in this sad dreary wOrld2 !
Where there is no kindness, love can
not exist, and where there is no love,
there is no life-just take kindness out
of our lives and what remains? 1t is
the kind actions of a friend that brings
our memory back to other days, some
times happier than the present, and af-
ter all how sweet to live and help bear
the burdens Of another: how small and
trivial our troubles become when COM
pared with another's.
Without kindness there is no congen-
lallJy and nothing but SelHShneSS, mar
rovness, a mean and harsh nature,
whitening away from self-contraction,
where. on the other hand, if a little Of
this great virtue were practiced, you
would soon see a nature unfolding itself !
like a rosebud in June TO the gentle.
persistent and warm rays Of the morn
ing sun, until it bursts forth in full 1
bloom and glory. A kind and generous
Od-given blessing. TO
me there IS nothing to compare witt t
it is one of the grandest charms that
can encircle the head Of any person, for
they carry with them love born of IN
ready and willing at all
times 10 administer to their fellow men
in despair. How often we hear the re-
mark: what a beautiful person, and
how lOvely?" when, If all the outward
marks Of personal beauty were crit
cised. there would not be redeeming
point of beauty in his or her favor, but
1t all there is something-a
beautiful nature, where the reflection of
the soul shines forth radiantly in the
face and makes us wonder what power
Of attraction it is that holds US SPELL
bound.
And thus if we, by timely aid
Rendered with loving care.
Can save one sad and sinking heart
From surges Of despair,
Kind Heaven viii smile upon our task
And every effort bless.
II we but cause one smile the more
And one sad raaT-Clr-0T1 less