Christ Jesus, teach me about alms-giving, prayer and fasting…

Matthew 6: 1-6 & 16-18

Alms-giving, prayer and fasting are not group activities. They are affairs of the heart that I engage in simply with God. Jesus cautions that anytime I flaunt my alms, my prayers or my faith activities and bring attention to my life, I am in error, and in danger of exchanging my fruitful relationship with God for fleeting human praise. Who better to teach me about alms-giving, prayer and fasting than Jesus? It was our Lord who gave tirelessly of his time, talents and treasure to nameless crowds of spiritual ‘beggars’. It was Jesus who rose in the pre-dawn shadows to pray with his Father before heading into exhausting days of ministry. And Christ Jesus as a practising Jew would have fasted from childhood through his adult life. What can Christ open up to me today in terms of my own giving, praying and fasting? Christ Jesus, teach me about alms-giving, prayer and fasting. 
                   
In the shelter of your presence you hide [us] from human plots.    (Psalm 31:20)
 
True silence is a garden enclosed, where alone the soul can meet its God.
Catherine Doherty
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei