FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD
19 JUNE 2024 WEDNESDAY 11
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.
(Matthew 6: 1-4)
How shall I live this Word? 
After saying to be perfect like the Father (5:48), Jesus makes us enter into the secret of His filial heart. His relationship with the Father is the source of Hs being and acting. Jesus taught us to have the Father as a point of reference and to find ourselves in Him to fill every need; “He retired to pray”. We often fill in our gaps through the recognition of others. We seek it in others and we never have enough, so much so that we remain slaves to the judgment and approval of others. At the same time, there is the effort to always appear up to the image of ourselves that we sell. The being of Jesus is all “before the Father”. This should also be the case for each one of us. Our glory, our “weight” is how much we are loved by the Father; this is the one, true, great dignity!
Teach us, Lord, not to live by seeking our glory from “others”, but to remember that we are made in “your image and likeness” and that only before You, do we find our reality, our dignity, and our truth.
The voice of Pope Francis Jubilee Audience, 9-4-2016
Jesus, […] asks us not to give alms to be praised and admired by others for our generosity: ‘make sure that your right hand does not know what the left does’ (cf. Mt 6:3). It is not appearance that counts, but the ability to stop to look in the face of the person asking for help. Each of us can ask ourselves, “Am I able to stop and look in the face, look in the eyes, the person who is asking me for help? Am I capable?” We must not, therefore, identify almsgiving with the simple currency offered quickly, without looking at the person and without stopping to talk to understand what he/she really needs..
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Living Scripture 
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