How showy are you?

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For 9 March 2011, Ash Wednesday, based on Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

About Ms. Marlene Laurendeau, O.P.

Marlene Laurendeau grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, being taught by the Dominican sisters of San Rafael; lived many years raising a family in Indiana; and in semi-retirement she and her husband moved to Maine, where he died five years ago. After the loss of their spouses and through CatholicMatch.com., she and her current spouse were united, and they enjoy commuting between California, Maine, and New Hampshire! Marlene is currently working on a masters degree in theological studies through the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., and she serves her Maine parish as a Eucharistic minister and group facilitator.