Gospel Reading : Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
“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.
“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 their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“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 their reward. 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.
“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 their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 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.
What do the Fathers say?
From the writings of 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.
– When any thing truly glorious is done, there ostentation has its readiest occasion; so the Lord first shuts out all intention of seeking glory; as He knows that this is of all fleshly vices the most dangerous to man. The servants of the Devil are tormented by all kinds of vices; but it is the desire of empty glory that torments the servants of the Lord more than the servants of the Devil.
– Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them. It is our heart we must watch, for it is an invisible serpent that we have to guard against, which secretly enters in and seduces; but if the heart be pure into which the enemy has succeeded in entering in, the righteous man soon feels that he is prompted by a strange spirit; but if his heart were full of wickednesses, he does not readily perceive the suggestion of the Devil.
– Prayer is as it were a spiritual tribute which the soul offers of its own inner self. Wherefore the more glorious it is, the more watchfully ought we to guard that it is not made vile by being done to be seen of men.
– He forbids us to pray in an assembly with the intent of being seen of that assembly, as He adds, that they may be seen of men.
He that prays therefore should do nothing singular that might attract notice; such as crying out, striking his breast, or reaching forth his hands.
– Truly, I say to you, they have their reward, for every man where he sows there he reaps, therefore they who pray because of men, not because of God, receive praise of men, not of God.
Sources:
Bible readings from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Second Catholic Edition, copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Quotes of the Fathers from Thomas Aquinas’ Catena Aurea Translated by St John Henry Newman
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