Eleventh Wednesday of Ordinary Time

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.

Alms, prayer, and fasting are what God asks of us, but He does not ask us to make a scene when we do these things. He tells us to do them in secret—without any fanfare. This does not mean we shouldn’t do these things out in public. That’s not the point Jesus is trying to make. If we have the opportunity to give alms, pray, or fast in public, we should do so, but we should not draw attention to ourselves. These acts should be focused on doing God's Will, not for an audience of men. As long as we give alms, pray, and fast out of love of God and not attention, then we should not worry when or where we are, even in public. The key is consistency. If we give alms, pray, and fast in private, then we should not worry about witnessing to our faith in public. After all, Jesus shared his gospel openly, why shouldn’t we?

When we give alms, do we do it because it’s the right thing or because we want to feel like philanthropists? When we pray, do we do it in a spirit of humility or do we desire others to see how holy we are? When we fast, do we do it as an act of renouncement of the world or to impress the world by our righteousness?

O Lord, we want to give alms, pray, and fast for you and you alone.

Amen.