+ Our gospel passage today is actually a repeat of that of Ash
Wednesday. Perhaps the reason for this is that any day is
a good day to be reminded about the basics: our
basic attitude of doing things for the right reason. The three great
religious activities mentioned in the passage apply as much to today as to the
ancient world in which we see them here. Almsgiving,
prayer and fasting can always
help not only the spiritual growth of the individual who does them, but also the
people for whom they can be done as a sacrificial offering.
But when they are done, they
must be done in an unassuming way, and not like Pharisees and hypocrites who
love to do these things to be seen, so they will win the admiration of the
people, and places of honor at banquets and the best foods and wines.
And so alms-giving (helping the poor with monies and goods) must be done
quietly, even anonymously if possible: we must recall that when we help people, we are helping Christ himself: and he will reward
and repay us beyond anything we can imagine. Private prayer (as opposed to community worship) needs to be done
in the secret places of our hearts, in the inner recesses of our homes, in our
prayer corners or chapels; in this way the flow of communication between God
and us can be free and abundant. Fasting
(giving up of certain foods and the like) should be done quietly as well: a
gloomy “giver-up-er” gives a bad impression to everyone: if penance does not produce joy, then it is not being done right!
It doesn’t have to be Lent for
us to practice these Christian activities: they are the key to right living and
good results any season of the year.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my
Father will love him and we will
come to him.
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