GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-181 "Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 "Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 16 "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Joel 2:12-1812 "Yet even now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. 17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep and say, "Spare your people, O LORD, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, `Where is their God?'" 18 Then the LORD became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.
Meditation: Are you hungry for God and do you thirst for
his holiness? God wants to set our hearts ablaze with the fire of
his Holy Spirit that we may share in his holiness and radiate the
joy of the Gospel to those around us. St. Augustine of Hippo tells
us that there are two kinds of people and two kinds of love: "One
is holy, the other is selfish. One is subject to God; the other
endeavors to equal Him." We are what we love. God wants to free
our hearts from all that would keep us captive to selfishness and
sin. "Rend your hearts and not your garments" says the prophet
Joel (Joel 2:12). The Holy Spirit is ever ready to transform our
hearts and to lead us further in God's way of truth and holiness.
Devoting our lives to God
Why did Jesus single out prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for his
disciples? The Jews considered these three as the cardinal works
of the religious life. These were seen as the key signs of a pious
(godly) person, the three great pillars on which the good life was
based. Jesus pointed to the heart of the matter. Why do you pray,
fast, and give alms? To draw attention to yourself so that others
may notice and think highly of you? Or to give glory to God? The
Lord warns his disciples of self-seeking glory - the preoccupation
with looking good and seeking praise from others. True piety is
something more than feeling good or looking holy. True piety is
loving devotion to God. It is an attitude of awe, reverence,
worship and obedience. It is a gift and working of the Holy Spirit
that enables us to devote our lives to God with a holy desire to
please him in all things (Isaiah 11:1-2).
Fulness of life with God our Father
What is the sure reward which Jesus points out to his disciples?
It is communion with God our Father. In him alone we find the
fulness of life, happiness, and truth. May the prayer of Augustine
of Hippo, recorded in his Confessions, be our prayer this Lent: When
I am completely united to you, there will be no more sorrows or
trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete. The
Lord wants to renew us each day and give us new hearts of love and
compassion. Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your
neighbor? Seek him expectantly in prayer, with fasting, and in
generous giving to those in need.
In the wilderness of prayer and fasting with Jesus
The forty days of Lent is the annual retreat of the people of God
in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. Forty is a
significant number in the Scriptures. Moses went to the mountain
to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The
people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in
preparation for their entry into the promised land. Elijah
fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the
mountain of God. We are called to journey with the Lord in a
special season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and penitence
(expressing true sorrow for sin and wrongdoing) as we prepare to
celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover of Jesus'
victory over sin, Satan, and death.
Growing in lively faith, firm hope, and fervent charity
The Lord Jesus gives us spiritual food and supernatural strength
(faith, hope, and love) to seek his face and to prepare ourselves
for spiritual combat and testing. We, too, must follow in the way
of the cross in order to share in the victory of Christ's death
and resurrection. As you begin this holy season of testing and
preparation, ask the Lord Jesus for a fresh outpouring of his Holy
Spirit so that you may grow in faith, hope, and love and embrace
his will more fully in your life.
Lord Jesus, give me a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, and a great love of you. Take from me all lukewarmness in the meditation of your word, and dullness in prayer. Give me fervor and delight in thinking of you and your grace, and fill me with compassion for others, especially those in need, that I may respond with generosity.
Psalm 51:3-6,12-4,17
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Lent - the epitome of our whole life, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD
"Christians must always live in this way, without any wish to
come down from their cross - otherwise they will sink beneath the
world's mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make
an even greater effort during the days of Lent. It is not a simple
matter of living through forty days. Lent is the epitome of our
whole life." (excerpt from Sermon 205, 1)
