Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special

In the voice of Saint Augustine, the ancient teacher of souls, there echoes a truth both humbling and uplifting: “Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.” These words remind us of the frailty of human power and the vastness of human need. We are not gods who can lift every burden, nor angels who can stretch wings across the world. We are men and women, limited in span and strength. Yet within those limits lies the sacred field of our duty.

The heart aches at the thought of so much suffering across the earth—hunger in distant lands, wars in unseen places, despair hidden in silent homes. It is easy to feel crushed beneath the weight of it all, to despair that one person cannot remedy all wrongs. But Augustine’s wisdom lifts this despair, reminding us that Providence has already marked the circle of our responsibility. The people who stand nearest to us—the friend, the neighbor, the stranger on our path—are entrusted to us not by accident, but by design. It is in these encounters, small and fleeting, that eternity touches our days.

Consider the parable of the Good Samaritan, recorded in Scripture. Many passed by the wounded man, perhaps overwhelmed by the thought of countless other wounded along the road. But the Samaritan, encountering the one before him, bound his wounds, poured oil upon them, and carried him to safety. He did not save all travelers on the road, nor heal all wounds of his generation, but he saved the one that Providence placed before him. His action became eternal because it was specific, immediate, and rooted in the bond of circumstance.

History, too, gives witness to this truth. In the days of World War II, a man named Oskar Schindler, a flawed and imperfect soul, could not stop the Holocaust, nor rescue every life caught in the machinery of death. But by the accidents of time and place, he found himself in connection with a group of Jewish workers. To them he gave his strength, his cunning, his resources, and his protection. He did not do good to all, but to those brought near him, he did a good so profound that generations still remember his name. His story reveals how one’s limited circle, when embraced with faithfulness, can become a beacon of infinite worth.

This teaching is not only for heroes of old, but for each of us who walk this earth. Every day, people are woven into the tapestry of our path: a child who needs listening, a co-worker weighed by sorrow, a beggar at the gate. To ignore them while wishing to save the world is to miss the very portion of the world God has already given us to tend. Goodness begins in proximity. Compassion begins with those already near. Our limitations are not barriers to virtue but guides pointing us to where our love is most required.

Hear this lesson, then: do not despise your small circle of influence. Do not lament that you cannot reach the ends of the earth. Instead, ask each morning, “Who has been placed upon my path today?” And when you find them, serve them, uplift them, listen to them, protect them. In this way, your goodness spreads outward like ripples upon water, for those you touch will in turn touch others. The world is healed not by one hand covering all, but by many hands covering each their portion.

Practical action flows from this wisdom. Begin by seeing. Notice who is already near you. Write the names of those whose lives intersect with yours—family, neighbors, colleagues, even strangers you meet often. Resolve to give special attention to them, to offer kindness, encouragement, or aid. Do not allow the magnitude of distant sorrows to paralyze you into neglecting the wounds at your doorstep. For as Saint Augustine reminds us, while you cannot do good to all, you can do immeasurable good to the ones Providence has chosen to entrust into your care.

And so, O children of the future, let your heart be lifted. You need not carry the whole world; you need only carry your portion. And if you are faithful in that, your goodness shall echo through the ages, and the God who set those people in your path shall bless the labor of your love.