“We
suffer these things and they fade form memory. But daily, hourly, to give up
our own possessions and especially to subordinate our own impulses and wishes
to to others - these are hard, hard things; and I don't think they ever get any
easier. You can strip yourself, you can be stripped, but still you will reach
out like an octopus to seek your own comfort, your untroubled time, your ease,
your refreshment. It may mean books or music - the gratification of the inner
sense - or it may mean food and drink, coffee and cigarettes. The one kind of
giving up is no easier than the other.” ― Dorothy Day, The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on
Following Jesus
Gospel
Text: (MT 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."
"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."
In Today’s Gospel from Mass Christ is
asking his followers to deny themselves and not be centered on self, to put
others ahead of self in what they do, to take inconveniences and suffering in imitation
of the suffering Son of Man. He is asking that at times we give up certain
pleasures and delights to be like so many men and women who lack even the
barest necessities of life. He is asking that we accept the many daily crosses
that come in our lives to be more like Christ.
To
follow Christ is to be obedient like him to the Father's will for us.
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