Daily Gospel Reflection for February 18, 2015

Today's Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Ash Wednesday

While it's important to give things up for Lent to practice detachment and to remove distractions that threaten to compete for God’s attention, giving up things alone won’t do us any good if we don’t combine it with prayer. Today’s gospel gives us the recipe for a successful Lent. The secret is time alone with God “who sees in secret." It’s not always necessary to give up something up for Lent. Sometimes it is more efficacious to take up something, especially if that means committing to daily time with God in prayer. And here’s the good news. There is a promise that comes with this. It says God will repay those who pray to the Father. It is so interesting how this is worded. It does not say God will reward you but that He will repay you. It almost implies that He knows you think your time is money. God sees this time given to Him as a sacrifice He does not overlook. For the time you sacrifice to be with Him, he will repay you. What an awesome and generous God we serve!

Ponder:

Do you set time aside to be alone with God? If not, now is the perfect time to start!

Pray:

God, please help me to seek first your kingdom so everything else in my life will fall into its right place and order. I trust that you will take care of everything.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Victoria Garaitonandia Gisondi