Wednesday, June 17, 2020 - Eleventh week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6, 1-6. 16-18 - If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, says the Lord; my Father will love him, and we will come to him.
Jesus' teaching forbids us to run after immediate rewards or to boast about what we do, that God is the only witness and judge of what we do. Often we are in a hurry to be rewarded for what we do, we like our actions to be applauded and recognized. Is it perhaps because we do not expect too much of the reward that the Father will give us? Jesus' words are clear: "What you do to become righteous, avoid doing it in front of men to get noticed. Otherwise, there is no reward for you from your Father in heaven". The Father can give us more, better and more abundantly, than we could ever hope to receive from men.
This passage of the Gospel is also proposed to us at the beginning of each Lent. This means that this attitude, not running after honours, is not only done in Lent but should be observed throughout the year; that is, charity, piety and fasting do not always wait for Lent. They are three interdependent and complementary things. We have studied them in depth and experienced them during Lent, this is just a small reminder. We can put them all into practice, no matter what our situation is. Let us stop looking for excuses on the pretext of poverty and so on... There are always those more destitute, more unhappy than themselves to help and rescue. Let us always remember our hymn: "He who gives to others the little he has, heaps up an imperishable treasure. Blessed is he!" Let it be neither pride nor arrogance that drives us to charity, but it is one of our Christian obligations to help others. We're wrong if it's about being seen and worshipped by others.
The same goes for piety: let it not be out of fear of the priest or the religious, catechists, teachers or others, but let us pray as if it were the air we breathe, and it is because praying is the best way to communicate with God. We have to pray and are obliged to pray whether we are seen or not by others.
Finally, fasting: a healthy and effective practice to tame carnal desire and at the same time help others. There is no need for praise and thanksgiving to do fasting, let us do it in all humility and discretion. Let only God be the witness of what we do.
