God Sees What Is In Your Heart

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟐 𝐊𝐠𝐬 𝟐:𝟏, 𝟔-𝟏𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟏: 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟒 “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟔:𝟏-𝟔, 𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟖

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓… 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (𝒗.18) 

         In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus gave two teachings to his disciples that highlighted the importance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Jesus knew whereof he speaks because the Jews regarded these three as the cardinal works of their religious life.

         To the Jews, a person is considered as pious if the person faithfully observes these key signs of piety on which the good life was based. Jesus immediately went to the crux of religiosity as he gave his disciples a teaching on the importance and significance of prayer.

         In some way, these three cardinal works practiced by the Jews are like what we Catholics know as the Corporal Works of Mercy (𝐂𝐂𝐂 𝟐𝟒𝟒𝟕) or seven practices of charity toward our neighbor that we also need to observe because these will have a bearing on our final destiny. These are: 𝟏) 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲; 𝟐) 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲; 𝟑) 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝; 𝟒) 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬; 𝟓) 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤; 𝟔) 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝; 𝟕) 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝.        

         These corporal works of mercy was culled from the Words of Jesus in 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕 25:34 when he said: “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, ’𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑶 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆.’ 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎, ’𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌?’ 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, ’𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆.”        

         Our Church teaches us that these corporal works of mercy are oriented toward the body. But we also have what are known as spiritual works of mercy which are oriented toward the soul. These seven practices of Catholic charity that are directed toward the soul are: 𝟏) 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬; 𝟐) 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭; 𝟑) 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥; 𝟒) 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐟𝐮𝐥; 𝟓) 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲; 𝟔) 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝; 𝟕) 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝.        

         In faith, we must believe that these practices are based on the teachings of Christ which have been handed down to the Church since the apostolic times.

         Why then do we need to pray, fast, and give alms? Is it to draw attention to ourselves so that others would notice and think highly of us? Or do we do these things to give glory to God? The Lord warns his disciples against seeking glory for themselves and he is also reminding us today not to preoccupy ourselves with trying to look good and to seek praise from others.

         True piety is more than just feeling good or appearing to be holy. True piety is our expression of our deep and loving devotion to God without attracting attention to ourselves. Piety is an attitude of awe, reverence, worship, obedience and the total yielding of ourselves to God. Piety is a gift of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to surrender our lives to God with a holy desire to please him in all things (𝑰𝒔𝒂 11:1-2).

         And Jesus assures us of a just reward when we can do all these things. This reward is not in any way material but the opportunity to come into communion with God our Father for only in Him can we find the fullness of life, truth, love and joy. There are many who think in terms of honor and praise for themselves as their reward but can there be anything more valuable than the fullness of life that we can only find in God through Christ.

         Perhaps we can draw inspiration from 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑨𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 who prayed: “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔; 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆.” The Lord indeed rewards those who seek him with humble and repentant hearts as He renews us each day and he gives us new hearts of love and compassion that we may serve him and our neighbor with joy and generous hearts.

         Jesus warns us: “𝑩𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.” (𝒗.1) Such should serve as a guide for us not to fall into the trap of becoming hypocrites who, in the time of Jesus, were described as those who do good acts for appearances only – not out of compassion or good motives.

         What Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel passage is that we don’t need to exert any effort for our actions to be seen because God sees everything and that God will reward those who are sincere in their faith. This is the same with our calling as disciples. The call comes from the Lord which means we wait, and we do what God tells us to do and go where we are sent.

         So, if we all want to grow in our love for God and for our neighbor let us all seek God in prayer, by fasting, and through generous giving to those in need. It is often said that you will know a person by his attitude towards giving especially to those in need because giving most often defines the character of a true Christian.

         And in praying, make sure that your prayers come from the heart because God listens to what is in your heart.

         In view of the material world that we grew up in, there is a natural tendency among us to work our butts off just so we can be comfortable and live in luxury with all the amenities that money can buy.

         I recall some years back when my family went around the Rockwell Mall after the Father’s Day dinner hosted by my daughter Patti, we chanced upon a beautiful red convertible manufactured by Morgan Motor Company of England. These cars are different because they are hand-made, and the car bodies are made from aluminum. The only downside is that the cheapest model is priced at P5.5-million, stiff for people like me but probably loose change to those who have money to splurge, and four units have already been sold since the car was introduced in the Philippines.

         The Morgan cars are mostly two-seaters and the equivalent of P5.5-million is 18 classrooms that can house 650 students at an average population of 35 students per classroom. I will not judge those who bought and will buy these cars, but I guess we are also accountable in the way we dispense of the blessings that we have received.

We're talking here of just P5.5 million. How many classrooms, health centers, daycare centers, roads and bridges do you think we can build with all the billions of pesos in public funds that our corrupt legislators have misappropriated and treated as their own. If we human as we are could see all these corrupt ways, how much more with out Father in heaven who sees everything. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 18, 2025)