Gospel: June 18, 2025
June 18, 2025 (Wednesday)
11th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)
Ps 112:1bc-2, 3-4, 9
Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be noticed in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by people. I assure you, they have their reward. If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be noticed. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners, in order to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have their reward. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face, as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this: they have been paid in full already. When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father, who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.
Reflection:
“We do it out of love.”
The 18th century French philosopher Auguste Comte considered Christianity to be purely motivated by self-interest, so that all actions of charity were simply done to reach heaven rather than out of concern for one’s neighbor. Comte’s argumentation is exaggerated and flawed, but his critique makes us stop and think about how genuine we are in our social concern. The virtue of charity needs to be practiced so that it becomes second nature to us, rather like riding a bike. As we become more virtuous, we will act less and less from mixed motives, and the temptation to focus on receiving praise for our good works will diminish. We will be so focused on the person we are dealing with, that we will forget about ourselves and others. This is the meaning of our left hand not knowing what our right is doing. It’s the opposite of Comte’s view. It’s not that we do charitable things to buy our way into heaven; Jesus tells us that this doesn’t work, in any case. Rather, we do it out of love, and God rewards this genuine selflessness, precisely because it’s genuine and selfless.
