Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6,
16-18
Jesus said to his
disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may
see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.When
you give alms,do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they
have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand
know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your
Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray, do
not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on
street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the
door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret
will repay you.
“When you fast, do
not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that
they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received
their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you
may not appear to be fasting except to your Father who is hidden. And your
Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
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Reflection:
How does the season
of lent affect you? Does this make you closer to God? There are three keys for
you to have a meaningful observance of lent. The first is Almsgiving, the
second is Prayer and the third is Fasting. In all of these three Jesus
advocates silence and self-introspection and Jesus advocates contradiction to
what this world would normally dictate you to do.
In Almsgiving, Prayer
and Fasting Jesus advocates doing it in the privacy of your heart. Nobody will
know except you and God alone not even your closest relative or friend. Why? Because it is in silence and secrecy that you would also receive blessings from God (Most especially spiritual blessings).
For example, how could you have peace of
mind? It’s through silence. How would you feel the presence of God in your life it’s in silence also.
God is not a loud or
boastful God He is not like the many artificial Gods of this secular world that
thrives in noise and publicity. Come to think of it, is it possible to have
communion with Jesus through noise and publicity? Never. You will never have
connection with Jesus through noise, publicity and other acts of self-promotion.
As we begin our forty (40) days journey this lent let us try to look back about the loudness of our lives. Let us look
at our facebooks and observe how we loudly promoted our lives there and let us
ask ourselves this question: Has this self-promotion and sometimes hedonistic lifestyle
led me in close communion with Jesus?
Lent is the time of
year that the Good Lord gives us so that we could get closer and intimate with
Him. It is His hope that through lent we could have a close encounter with Him
and this we could best do in silence.
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