Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
“And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. ”
“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven.
Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. 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 hand is doing, so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, who love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets to pray, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.
But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
What do the Fathers say?
On the Gospel Reading:
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. What shall you receive from God, you who have given God nothing? What is done for God’s sake is given to God, and received by Him; but what is done because of men is cast to the winds.
He contrasts three chief virtues, alms, prayer, and fasting, against the three evil things against which the Lord undertook the war of temptation.
For He fought for us against gluttony in the wilderness ; against covetousness on the mount; and against false glory on the temple.
It is alms that scatter abroad covetousness; fasting dispels gluttony; and prayer dispels false pride. False pride alone comes out of good; and therefore it is not overthrown but rather nothing may avail against it but prayer only.
On Fasting:
St John Chrysostom: Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works! Is it said by what kind of works?
If you see a poor man, take pity on him! If you see an enemy, be reconciled to him! If you see a friend gaining honour, envy him not! If you see a handsome woman, pass her by!
For let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies.
Let the hands fast, by being pure from rapine and avarice.
Let the feet fast, by ceasing from running to the unlawful spectacles.
Let the eyes fast, being taught never to fix themselves rudely upon handsome countenances, or to busy themselves with strange beauties. Let the ear fast also. The fasting of the ear consists in refusing to receive evil speakings and calumnies. You shall not receive a false report, it says.
Let the mouth too fast from disgraceful speeches and railing. For what does it profit if we abstain from birds and fishes; and yet bite and devour our brethren?