One of my favorite contemplatives is St. John of the Cross. He not only wrote two great books on the contemplative life–“Dark Night of the Soul” and “Ascent to Mt. Carmel”–he also worked tirelessly to reform the Catholic monastic movement in the Middle Ages.
I thought of this while reflecting on Jesus’ early ministry. Mark uses an economy of words to report “just the facts.” He has Jesus on the move constantly either healing or teaching. As he teaches in Chapter 4, he says “the measure you give will be the measure you receive.” Jesus did not want a bunch of passive followers who just sat around feeling needy or wanting someone to make them feel good. Jesus wanted followers who were “not hearers of the Word, but doers, too.”
Linus in George Schultz’s “Charlie Brown” once said, “I love mankind, it’s people I can’t stand.” That’s the prototype attitude of a philosopher, professor or sometimes preacher and teacher. But Jesus turns that statement around. You need to love individual people. Love isn’t a feeling, it’s an action. You actively love individual people by acting–doing something for them with no expectation of return. The paradox is by not expecting a return, you actually get one. You get life with God. Forever.
In the same story about giving a measure, Jesus asks if a light should be hidden. And he says that in the light the hidden will be made open. In this way, when you do acts of love for others, you don’t need to boast about it like the Pharisees, but God’s light will make the acts known and God will know.
So, pay attention to what is happening around you. Then help out where you can.
Faith Venture 
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