Tuesday February 21st: We must decrease so that Christ will increase in us
February 21, 2023
Thursday February 23rd: Lose our lives for His sake
February 23, 2023
Ash Wednesday
“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
We live in a culture that promotes public recognition for donations, achievements, status, good deeds; often, to please people, to gain human praise, notice and honor. Jesus is teaching us another lesson/way, one that is truly righteous.
As we start our personal journey this Lent, we are called to become more pious/righteous in our relationships – with God, self and others. In so doing, reflect deeply on our motivations. Jesus gives us a model for practicing and becoming pious/righteous – Almsgiving, Praying and Fasting. He adds a disposition, “in secret” not for praise by others, nor recognition, nor even self-praise, feeling good nor building the ego. The right hand must not know what the left hand is doing. It is a disposition that rejects the consumerist culture of self-satisfaction.
These acts of piety are to bring us into conversion in our relationship with God, self and others. These are not separate moments but all intertwined like the ingredients – flour, water, yeast and salt, for making bread that sustains us. Each act of piety/righteousness allows us to be nearer to God.
