The Gospel for The feast of St. Aloysius is taken from Matthew 6, 8 and 16 through the 18th verse. 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, in the streets, to win the praises 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 hand 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 may say to you, they’ve 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, wash your face so that you may not appear to others to be fasting except to your Father who is hidden, and your Father who sees what is hidden, will repay you.

Jesus calls those who are trying to impress other people as hypocrites because it’s not only that they’re telling them that they’re doing something and they should be honored, but they’re actually not doing anything. So there’s no real reward in that for them. The things that Jesus is asking us to do are classic things. To pray, to fast, to be generous. He just says, look, if you want the reward of those, if you want those things to become in you that which they are intended to be, something that transforms you, lifts you to a higher level of consciousness. If you don’t do them, you’re not going to get any reward.

So what he’s really praying that we have is authenticity. Closing prayer. Father, give us authenticity. Help us to be honest with ourselves. If we do a practice that our religion calls us to, we need to do it with the intention that it transforms us and changes us. Not because it looks good that we’re there or participating.

Do this for us. We need this kind of help because the other is so easy to fall into. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.