RSB: Chapter Four

The tools we need

Chapter 4 Tools of Good Works

Work while you have the light (Jn 9:4)

Imagine that one year you make a resolution to get into shape. Perhaps you’ve been sedentary for a long while, or perhaps you used to be a runner and wish you still were. It makes sense to go to an expert for a workout plan that will gradually increase your strength and stamina.

Robert Frank

If your resolution is instead to live according to the Gospel, this chapter will be gold for you.

There are some seventy ‘tools’ listed, which can be overwhelming. Starting at the beginning, consider each one with deliberation, aware of your internal reaction. The first one to strike you as having a practical application to your own life is the one to focus on.

These are tools, appropriate for different purposes, rather than a To Do list. It is through the use of these tools that you will come to understand their value.

An example: Why do you stand for the reading of the Gospel during Mass? Probably you stand out of respect for the Word, in communion with the congregation. But when you first attended Mass, if you were old enough to stand, you probably stood because your parents did. Your physical posture was being trained before your intellect.

It is the same with the Tools of Good Works. You cannot judge their value before you have put them into practice; still, it is good to start with the tools you are most motivated to use. Experience will make you more willing to take a chance on other, less obviously valuable practices.