＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Remember: the one

who sows meagerly will reap meagerly, and there shall be generous harvests for the one who sows generously.   Each of you should give as you decided personally, and not reluctantly as if obliged. God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to fill you with every good thing, so that you have enough of every­thing at all times, and may give abundantly for any good work.

Scripture says: He distributed, he gave to the poor, his good works last forever.  God who provides the sower with seed will also provide him with the bread he eats. He will multiply the seed for you and also increase the interests of your good works.   Become rich in every way, and give abundantly. What you give will become, through us, a thanksgiving to God.

 

Ps 112:1bc-2, 3-4, 9

Blessed the man fears the Lord.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊   

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

 Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness 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 seen in the synagogues and in the streets in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have been already paid in full.

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 seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone.

I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 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 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.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

 Some people make a show of their holiness. They go to extraordinary lengths to impress others of their piety. They may gain attention just because of the difficulty they have undergone to accomplish a spiritual feat, but their holiness is skin deep because they are contrived.

The heart is not humbled and their sense of self-importance becomes an obstacle to a loving and sound relationship with God. It is in this context that Jesus reminds His follower not to preoccupy themselves with display of spiritual asceticism for public consumption. They should do it in private and hide it from others as much as possible because they do it only for God and no one else.