From Prayer to Love in Action
Listening the Spirit
Loving and Faithful God,
purify our hearts, O Lord,
that our faith may go beyond words and appearances,
and take root in our thoughts, our desires, and our daily choices.
Heal what is hidden within us—
the anger we carry, the compromises we excuse,
the half-truths we allow in the name of convenience.
Form us as a people whose “yes” is truthful and whose “no” is honest,
whose relationships are marked by respect and fidelity,
and whose search for harmony leads to true reconciliation, not silence.
As Filipinos shaped by faith, family, and community,
teach us to live Your law with a transformed heart—
so that our devotion may become integrity,
our traditions may bear the fruit of justice and compassion,
And our lives may give You glory.
We offer this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
Listening the Word: Matthew 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.
"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 be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
Reflection
Praying, sharing our goods (making alms) and fasting: three ways that today Gospel proclaims as the privileged path to follow Jesus more closely in His journey from the desert to Jerusalem.
It is the journey to reach the true ourselves: Truth and Justice are what Jesus asks to us in this special period of the year called “Lenten Season” that starts on Ash Wednesday.
“Reject Hypocrisy!”.
Praying we are going to purify our relation with God, knowing His Love that involves and transforms us better and better. Making Alms we are going to purify our relation with the others, if our actions of sharing our goods with the others are expressions of a deeper thirst of Justice, desiring a world shaped on God’s dream: no more poverty, no more violence, no more starvation please, please!
Fasting we are going to purify our relation with ourselves, tasting that our deep desire and our deep need is to dwell in the Merciful Love of God. Only God is enough.
A missionary doesn’t live all these elements just as an inner journey of purification.
A missionary doesn’t live these three privileged ways as an ascetic form of contemplation. Just an exercise of sobriety and fidelity.
I am deeply convinced that awareness and actionsare the dimensions of a missionary Lenten season. Awareness of what we are and of the reasons we are walking in this world as guardians of a deep thirst we feel: being in communion with the Love of God. Actions because we understand better all of this just pushing us in moving forward to outreach the others. We meet the others knowing who we are (awareness – Truth) and we join the other’s hand to discover the beauty to be sons and daughters of God (actions – Justice) sharing what we have and who we are. Deep Awareness can be reached only in touch with the Love of God in prayer and fasting. Prophetic actions can be performed only when we are inspired by our prayer and our desire of solidarity with the poors (Making Alms)
May God help us to live a meaningful Lenten season, seeking Truth and Justice. Always missionaries everywhere we are.
Reflection Questions
1. How are my prayer, fasting, and almsgiving helping me move from mere religious practice to a deeper awareness of who I am in God’s love and to concrete actions of justice toward others?
2.In this Lenten journey from the desert to Jerusalem, where is Jesus inviting me to reject hypocrisy and live more authentically as a missionary—seeking Truth in communion with God and practicing Justice in solidarity with the poor?
