"We do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that f we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us...So we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men--and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them." St. Augustine

Why do we seek to please others?  For our sake and benefit or for the glory of God and their good.?  It is all in the attitude and the intention. Too often people use others without regards to the other, but for some selfish gain. This does not benefit them or benefit us in what really matters, our eternal salvation. Instead of being our intercessors before God on the Day of Accountability, they will be our accusers. Seek to please God and others for their eternal good and we will be judged mercifully by God.

 "Before we ever seek God, His grace is already seeking us." St. Prosperus

Before we are aware of God, God has created us, sustained  us in existence, redeemed us through his death and resurrection, adopted us as his sons and daughters, fed us with his Body and Blood and forgiven our sins. For the most part, all we did was receive his love without appreciating his love or even responding to his love. Even when we begin to respond with love, it is by his grace that we are able to do so. All is grace! The more we are aware of this, the more we can appreciate his tremendous love for us, maybe even in spite of us. What should our response be? Simple, respond with an authentic love, a love that seeks to be agape love.

 "Where noise ends, God begins to speak." St. William

When Elijah was led  to the mountain to await the word of the Lord to him, he had to enter into the inner silence. There was an earthquake, a storm, a mighty wind, but these were just noises and distractions. As he moved from the distracting noise, he was able to hear the Lord in the stillness of a whisper. Many times when we come before the Lord in prayer, our mind is bombarded with many distractions. We need to shut our these distractions to still our heart and mind. It will be in those moments that, if the Lord wishes to speak to us, we will be able to hear clearly. He is the Lord. We wait on him.

 "To will what God wills, to will it in the way, the time and the circumstances that he wills, and to will all this not for other reasons, but only because God wills it so." St. Joseph Cafasso

This is the surest road to holiness and eternal union with God. Jesus taught us this both by word and by action. He said that the one who does the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of God. In choosing the will of the Father even to death by crucifixion, he lived what he taught, as an example for us. We express this sentiment in the Our Father: thy will be done. God called Adam and Eve to be obedient to his command. They chose, not his will, but theirs. To choose the Father's will in all things does not negate our will, but enables us to unite our imperfect will to the perfect will of the Father for the glory of God and our eternal happiness.

 "Let no seductive good fortune lead us astray. He is a foolish traveler who sees pleasant meadows on his journey and forgets where he is going." St. Gregory the Great

God reminds us of our destiny: not this life but life eternal with him. But how easy it is to get distracted and lose focus as we traverse through time and space with so much impacting us. It is easy to forget who we are and whose we are. We are called to be like St. Paul. He saw all as rubbish. He had only one goal: to reach the prize on high, life with God. He knew he did not deserve it, but he desired it. He knew it was a pure gift from God, but a gift willed for us before time began. Not to reach this goal would be failure beyond understanding. To choose something less would be the ultimate act of foolishness.

 
"If some rich and powerful friend were to enter your home, you would quickly clean the entire house for fear something there might offend your friend's eyes, when he entered. Let anyone then who is preparing his inner house for God cleanse away the dirt of his evil deeds. The Lord comes into the  heart and makes his home in one, who truly loves God and observes his commandments." St Pope Gregory the Great

Why are we more concerned at times of offending a weak, sinful person like ourselves, while not showing a greater respect for the Lord God, who is perfect? Is it because we are more concern with the person we can see than the God we can't see? In the end, the human person will come and go, while God will be the one who judges our lives. While there is time, cleanse the inner rooms of your heart from the various filth of sin. The human person may not see these areas, but God does.

"A good man is not a perfect man; a good man is an honest man, faithful and unhesitatingly responsive to the voice of God in his life.” St. John Fisher