HOMILY FOR THE 11TH WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY FOR THE 11TH WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
2 Cor 9:6-11; Psalm 112:1-4, 9; Matt 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.
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“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 others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
The Lord does not hide His dislike for the scribes and Pharisees. The main and obvious reason is their hypocrisy. This word comes from the Greek hupokrisis (‘acting of a theatrical part’), from hupokrinesthai (‘play a part, pretend’). In other words, hypocrites are basically actors. Their words and actions are only for show, so that people will admire them.
In the Gospel today, Jesus warns His followers not to follow the behavior of hypocrites, but to be more authentic in the practice of their spiritual duties. He mentions three basic acts of religion expected of a devout Jew: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These are all laudable practices meant to deepen and strengthen one’s spiritual life. But Jesus insists that these have to be done, not for show, but in secret. After all, the heavenly Father sees everything done in secret and generously gives His reward.
Doing something just to please others and look good to them, to the point of faking it, is not only a sin against honesty but is totally absurd and futile. Nobody can please everyone. It is just a waste of time, of peace, of humility and of every virtue.
However, since man is a social being, to belong to a group and be accepted is a basic human need. But what many do not realize is that to be pleasing to God, to be accepted by Him, and to belong to Him is an infinitely more important basic human need. This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Man is made to live in communion with God, in whom he finds happiness.” (no. 45), and the “desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself” (n. 27).
We, therefore, should strive to please God. Let Him be our ‘audience’, doing everything to please Him, for His honor and glory. We should never be worried by what others may think about us, but only about what the Lord thinks.
One of the fruits of the liturgical reforms brought about by the Second Vatican Council is that of giving the priest celebrant the option to celebrate Mass facing the people (‘versus populum’). It must be noted that this is just an option since there is no document of Vatican II that explicitly gives this instruction to priests. Sadly, however, ‘versus populum’ has now become the norm in almost all churches. One downside of this is that in celebrating Mass, a lot of priests are tempted to consciously try to please the people. This is very unfortunate because, as a result of this, in many instances, the Mass is turned into an occasion for entertainment, with the priest habitually disregarding many liturgical norms just to win the praise and adulation of his ‘audience’.
In his book, ‘Spirit of the Liturgy’, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord.” That is why the practice of “moving the altar cross to the side to give an uninterrupted view of the priest is something I regard as one of the truly absurd phenomena of recent decades.”
When we come to Mass, let it always be clear in our mind that we are in the presence of God, and our sole motivation is to please, not the people, but Him alone. This is what the great Spanish mystic, St. Teresa of Avila, reminds us: “Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angels tremble.”
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