It’s easy to grow frustrated with the shortcomings of others — when parishioners only attend Mass on Christmas and Easter, or when students neglect their homework. There’s something in human nature that notices and attends to problems — and that is useful, indeed. We need to analyze problems in order to find effective solutions. But we should complement this tendency by actively looking for good — in everyone and everywhere we go.
Stop judging
As Catholics, we want others — and the world — to be redeemed, transformed, and saved; and we have hope that all will be, through Christ (John 3:17). St. John the Evangelist states, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). There’s an inverse relationship here between condemnation and salvation. Interesting.
So how can Catholics — priests, religious, and laity — participate in this salvific action? Well, condemnation is surely not the answer. Scripture passages warn against judging. During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it quite clear: “Stop judging” (Matthew 7:1). He redirects His listeners to focus on the splinter in their own eye:
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me remove that splinter from your eye,” while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3–5)
Here, Jesus orients His followers not only toward their sin, but also toward their vision. The splinter is in the eye — the organ responsible for human sight. If that pathway is blocked or distorted, the viewer cannot perceive their environment accurately.
Accordingly, if we are to participate in the salvation of the world by refraining from judgment and condemnation, we must ensure that our own vision is clear. In removing the splinters from our own eyes, we become better able to see the goodness in others — even when it is hidden amid brokenness, since we are, in fact, all sinners (Romans 3:23).
Goodness spreads
In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis clearly encourages the faithful to seek goodness. “Goodness always tends to spread,”1 he writes. He further explains:
Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us . . . As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good.2
These words echo Jesus’ teaching and reflect a deep trust in the natural fecundity of goodness. It spreads and grows — like wildflowers (Matthew 6:28). As such, we can focus on searching for goodness, in others and in the world, with a quiet and unfailing faith that it will indeed spread, leading to the transformation we so deeply long for.
Imago Dei
It makes sense that we would — and should — focus on goodness. Each person is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and God looked upon His creation and found it very good (Genesis 1:31).
Although creation was formed in goodness, it became corrupt after the fall of man — which God permitted. Yet even in its fallen state, creation retains its essential goodness with which God created it. In fact, St. Paul’s letter to the Romans reflects this mystery: God has “delivered all to disobedience” (Romans 11:32). Good, but disobedient. Why? The answer is clear: “that He might have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32). And we, too, are called to see the essential goodness with which God created each person; and to have mercy: “Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
Not only does God find goodness in his Creation, where He has delivered all to disobedience, but He also asks us to focus on the good. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he advises the faithful: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). It seems clear here that God wants us to wholly consider the true, the good, and the beautiful — all of which are reflected in His creation.
As such, there is a strong theological basis for actively seeking — and trusting in — the goodness of every human person, knowing that goodness spreads.
Psychological research
Theology clearly calls us to search for and recognize the good in others. But does the design of the human person support this call? Psychology offers compelling confirmation.
Affirming others’ goodness through verbal feedback
In psychology, we find that positive feedback increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Many of us can recall teachers who used a reward system to reinforce good classroom conduct. This method works due to a principle known as operant conditioning: when something pleasant follows a particular behavior, we are more likely to engage in that behavior again. These pleasant reactions can be extrinsic (coming from outside), like candy, game points, or a monetary reward; or they can be intrinsic (coming from within), such as the pleasure one feels when receiving positive feedback or achieving a personal goal.
Neuroimaging research further reveals that when someone receives elaborative positive feedback — feedback that emphasizes not just a correct response, but the skill or effort applied to achieve it — brain regions involved in both pleasure and that particular skill activate.3 This suggests that kindly pointing out a positive trait or action in someone can make them feel good and increase the likelihood that they will continue to foster that trait or repeat that action.
This aligns with the concept of strength-based feedback — feedback that focuses on a person’s strengths. Such feedback has been shown to produce a range of positive outcomes, including increased motivation, engagement, and growth.4 In other words, when we highlight others’ strengths and affirm their positive actions, we help elicit the very behaviors and virtues we hope to see more of.
Affirming others’ identity or core values
Research also shows that when individuals feel their identity or core values are accepted by others, they become more open to feedback and demonstrate growth and positive change across various domains5 — including, potentially, the spiritual. In contrast, when people perceive judgment or a lack of acceptance, they often become defensive, which can block the very transformation we hope to inspire.
While, as Catholics, we cannot affirm values that contradict Church teaching, I would assert that it is nearly always possible to identify some aspect of a person’s identity or core values that align with the Gospel. By focusing on, accepting, and affirming the good within those values, we can help foster openness to change and growth.
Taken together, this body of psychological research affirms a simple but powerful truth: the more we point out the good in people, the more likely they are to grow in that goodness. If we want others to change their behavior — perhaps to attend Mass more regularly, help with chores, or complete their homework — we should begin by affirming the positive in their actions, intentions, or desires.
Psychological research on noticing goodness
The benefits of seeing goodness in others extend not only to those we affirm, but to us as viewers as well. When we encounter beauty in nature or art, we often experience emotional uplift and well-being. Psychology shows that similar benefits arise when we witness moral actions and inner virtue — phenomena referred to as moral beauty.
Likewise, when we contemplate beautiful ideas, we experience personal enrichment. These encounters with goodness and beauty have been shown to increase well-being, positive emotions, self-transcendent emotions (such as awe and elevation), and prosocial behavior.6 In other words, when we see goodness and beauty, our attention naturally shifts outward — away from ourselves and toward others. We are inspired, and more likely to act in ways that help and uplift those around us.
Goodness in the world?
God sent His only Son into the world so that the world might be saved. When Christ ascends into heaven, He leaves behind His followers — those whom He sends into the world (John 17:18). He does not ask the Father to take them out of the world (John 17:15). Still, He acknowledges: though they are in the world, they do not belong to it (John 17:16).
What does this mean for today’s Catholics? We are not asked to flee from the world, but rather to remain present within it. This is the same world destined to be redeemed — not through condemnation, but through Christ.
So how are we called to respond to the world? I suggest that, based on Scripture, we actively search for goodness and beauty in it. We might look for the good intentions behind actions and words even if they also have a mixture of sin or confusion. And we can engage all our senses in this search — not just our vision.
For example, in John Denver’s hit “Rocky Mountain High,” he describes a man who seeks to comprehend the beauty of nature. He sings, “Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forests and the streams / Seeking grace in every step he takes.” Later in the song, we hear, “Friends around the campfire, everybody’s high. Rocky Mountain High.” In this, we might recognize the voice of a soul seeking truth and elevated by God’s natural wonders. In Pink’s 2012 hit Just Give Me a Reason, we might recognize a cry for healing and mercy: “We’re not broken, just bent . . . and we can learn to love again.”
In movies like Encanto, we see Luisa’s desire to be loved beyond what she contributes7 and Mirabel’s affirmation of human dignity: “You’re more than just your gift . . . The miracle is you. All of you.”
When we notice and focus on such reflections of goodness, beauty, and truth in culture, our own spirits are strengthened — and we foster transformation of the world by affirming the good. As psychology suggests, what we affirm is more likely to grow. When we name the good, we help it spread and flourish.
Conclusion
So let us re-emphasize the call to search for goodness — and remain cautious of condemnation and judgment, whether from the pulpit or in everyday conversations. A person who attends Mass on Easter and hears criticism of their typical absence is likely to feel defensive — and unlikely to return the following week. But in affirming the goodness of one’s presence, their search for God, and their fundamental identity as created in God’s image, we are likely to foster growth and transformation.
If we truly desire more goodness in the world, we must begin by ensuring our own vision is clear. God saw His creation and declared it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Can we see it that way, too?
Let us trust in His mercy and in His ways — beyond what eye has seen — and have faith that goodness will spread.
- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium §9, November 24, 2013. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html. ↩
- Evangelii Gaudium §9. ↩
- S. R. Mattheiss, E. J. Alexander, and W. W. Graves, “Elaborative Feedback: Engaging Reward and Task-Relevant Brain Regions Promotes Learning in Pseudoword Reading Aloud,” Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience 18 (2018): 68–87. ↩
- Martin E. P. Seligman, Tracy A. Steen, Nansook Park, and Christopher Peterson, “Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions,” American Psychologist 60, no. 5 (2005): 410; Herman Aguinis, Ryan K. Gottfredson, and Harry Joo, “Delivering Effective Performance Feedback: The Strengths-Based Approach,” Business Horizons 55, no. 2 (2012): 105–11. ↩
- Claude M. Steele, “The Psychology of Self-Affirmation: Sustaining the Integrity of the Self,” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 21 (1988): 261–302; Geoffrey L. Cohen and David K. Sherman, “The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention,” Annual Review of Psychology 65 (2014): 333–71. ↩
- Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt, “Approaching Awe, a Moral, Spiritual, and Aesthetic Emotion,” Cognition and Emotion 17, no. 2 (2003): 297–314; Rhett Diessner, Rico Pohling, Shawnee Stacy, and Angelika Güsewell, “Trait Appreciation of Beauty: A Story of Love, Transcendence, and Inquiry,” Review of General Psychology 22, no. 4 (2018): 377–97. ↩
- cf. “Because you are precious in my eyes . . . I love you.” NABRE, Jeremiah 31:3. ↩
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