HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY {19/06/2024}, 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
2Kings 2:1.6-14; Matt 6:1-6.16-18
The Christian life is made up of three (3) major acts: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.
Many today fall into this act of ‘show off’. They do this to impress the public with their generosity most especially in almsgiving or helping other people. This is self-glorification. This is indeed hypocrisy. In all, a proper understanding of how these three major acts should be practised is what Jesus teaches us in the gospel:
Almsgiving: this becomes a noble and meritorious religious act when we give alms to others to bring glory to God. For instance, when we help the poor as an expression of our sharing love; in thanksgiving for God’s blessing we have received. But when almsgiving is done as a ‘show off’, then it is solely an act of self-glorification.
Fasting becomes a noble act pleasing to God when we do it:
A) to experience what the real hunger of the poor is.
B) to help the poor better by giving the price of what we do not eat to feed them.
C) to discipline ourselves in eating and drinking and.
D) to better appreciate God's blessings of good health, good appetite, and generous provisions.
Again, fasting becomes a show-off when we exhibit what the Pharisees do.
Prayer is opening our connection to God by talking to Him and listening to Him, convinced of His all-pervading holy presence within and all around us. Indeed, prayer is raising our minds and hearts to God in silence or words. Thus, when we pray, we acknowledge our total dependence on God; our daily and spiritual spiritual strength comes from God. But when we begin to have long and noisy repetitious prayers as the Pharisees do, then, we become hypocrites.
Pax Vobis
The Christian life is made up of three (3) major acts: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.
Every Christian must possess these cardinal principles that are associated with our connection to God. These acts are what Jesus Christ points out in our gospel pericope today. But before then, Jesus tells us to be careful of showing our piety before men or what we all know as public applause or approval in other words known as ‘show off’.
Many today fall into this act of ‘show off’. They do this to impress the public with their generosity most especially in almsgiving or helping other people. This is self-glorification. This is indeed hypocrisy. In all, a proper understanding of how these three major acts should be practised is what Jesus teaches us in the gospel:
Almsgiving: this becomes a noble and meritorious religious act when we give alms to others to bring glory to God. For instance, when we help the poor as an expression of our sharing love; in thanksgiving for God’s blessing we have received. But when almsgiving is done as a ‘show off’, then it is solely an act of self-glorification.
Fasting becomes a noble act pleasing to God when we do it:
A) to experience what the real hunger of the poor is.
B) to help the poor better by giving the price of what we do not eat to feed them.
C) to discipline ourselves in eating and drinking and.
D) to better appreciate God's blessings of good health, good appetite, and generous provisions.
Again, fasting becomes a show-off when we exhibit what the Pharisees do.
Prayer is opening our connection to God by talking to Him and listening to Him, convinced of His all-pervading holy presence within and all around us. Indeed, prayer is raising our minds and hearts to God in silence or words. Thus, when we pray, we acknowledge our total dependence on God; our daily and spiritual spiritual strength comes from God. But when we begin to have long and noisy repetitious prayers as the Pharisees do, then, we become hypocrites.
Pax Vobis
Rev. Fr. Awoyemi Emmanuel,
Catholic Diocese of Ilorin, Kwara State,
Nigeria.
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