Wednesday of the 11th
Week in Ordinary Time
June 15, 2016 6:30am
Readings: 2
Kings 2:1,6-14
Matthew
6:1-6, 16-18
We hear today’s gospel every year
on Ash Wednesday.
Its focus on 1) charitable
giving, 2) prayer, and 3) fasting makes it almost a perfect way to begin Lent.
Jesus’ consistent refrain in his
three teachings is: do it in secret.
In other words, do it not to be
seen or well thought of by others.
Do it for yourself, for God, and
for your relationship with God.
One of our Catholic spiritual
writers, Sister Joan Chittister, makes a comment that is very pertinent to
Jesus’ teaching here.
I would like to read you what
Sister Joan says – just three short sentences – and leave you with that as a reflection
for today.
Sister says: “We can only do so much to make ourselves look better than we are,
either physically or spiritually.
Then there is nothing left but the soul we bring to a situation with
its kindness, its quality, and its openness.”
So, “Decorate yourself from the inside out.”
They are wise words, so
expressive of what Jesus says in the gospel.
Be authentic, tending first and
foremost your inner spirit and your relationship with God.
Make sure that our good actions
flow from that and then they will be of real benefit both to others and ourselves.
