Mt 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your justice,” that is, your works of virtue, “before men, in order that you may be seen by them,” that is, with this end in view, that you may be regarded by them as virtuous and that you may seek human praise. For this would be to wish to please men. But God scatters the bones of those who please men (Ps. 111:6 [Vulgate]). Otherwise—that is, unless you take heed as I warn you—you will not have a reward with your Father who is in heaven, that is, in the sight of God in the heavenly homeland, because you will not merit heavenly beatitude by acting in this way. For in moral matters an act takes its species from its end; and according to Ambrose, intention impresses its species upon your act. If therefore the end is vain, the work is vicious.
Finally, according to Dionysius, the good arises from an integral cause, that is, from all the circumstances concurring, whereas evil happens in many ways; for it is sufficient that any circumstance be omitted. Among all the circumstances of a virtuous act, the end is the principal one; and therefore, if a work is done for human praise, it is especially corrupted and defiled.
Mt 6:2 “You therefore, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you,” that is, do not make yourself known by a loud voice or by some other sign in order to obtain the praise of men, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that is, in the temples and in the public places. For thus many of the Jews did, so that they might be honored by men. “Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward,” namely human praise. O vanity and infinite misery: to be deprived of divine, eternal, and heavenly honor for the sake of the fleeting, base, deceptive, and momentary praise of men!
Mt 6:3 “But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” that is, do this so secretly in regard to the intention of your mind that even one who is as near to you as one hand is to the other would not see it. For by such a manner of speaking it is given to be understood that a man ought to wish to be seen by no one for the sake of gaining human glory, although almsgiving may be done openly for the edification of others and the honor of God.
Or spiritually: “Let not the left hand know,” that is, let perverse thought or vain affection know not what the right hand does, that is, good thought and good affection. That is, let vain thought be altogether cast away and not be mingled with the good thought from which almsgiving is born.
Mt 6:4 “That your alms may be in secret,” that is, let it be done secretly, at least according to the desire of the heart and the intention of the soul, so that you do not vainly desire to appear. As Jeremiah says: “If a man shall be hidden…” (cf. Jer. 23). And “your heavenly Father, who sees with the intellectual eye in secret,” that is, inwardly in the soul, searching hearts and reins, and even in dark and hidden places, as it is said: “In secret places—and shall I not see him?” For man sees what appears outwardly (1 Sam. 16:7), but God looks upon the heart.
“He will repay you with an abundant reward” for almsgiving, which is begun in the present and is perfected in the future.
After exhortation concerning works of mercy and fraternal charity, by which man is virtuously extended toward his neighbors, the Savior teaches concerning the act of latria, by which the soul is raised to God, namely concerning prayer, which according to Damascene is the ascent of the mind to God or a petition of fitting things, that is, of those things which it is fitting to ask from God.
Mt 6:5 “And when you pray, by supplicating God, you shall not be as the hypocrites,” that is, you ought not to be made like vain men who seek human praise rather than the honor of God or honor from God. They love to pray standing in synagogues, that is, in public assemblies or temples, and in the corners of the streets. They stand so that they may be seen from farther away.
What among Christians is designated by “church,” among the Jews is signified by “synagogue,” namely the place of divine worship or the gathering of the faithful people. According to Chrysostom, He does not say “in the streets,” but “in the corners of the streets,” to insinuate that hypocrites sometimes seek a secluded place for praying, not in order to be hidden, but in order to be seen as if praying in secret, and thus to be doubly commended: first, because they pray; second, because they seem to desire to be hidden. For they know that it is more praiseworthy to pray in secret.
Such are many who pretend to flee honors, to be unwilling to preside, to hate vain glory, so that they may obtain honor, preeminence, and glory. For they know that “the humbled shall be exalted” (cf. Sirach 3:20; Luke 14:11). Therefore it is written: “There is one who humbles himself wickedly, and his interior is full of deceit” (cf. Sirach 19:23). Thus they pray so that they may be seen by men, that is, that they may be thought devout, praised, and honored.
“Amen,” that is, truly I say to you, they have received their reward. Indeed, even if they are seen by no man and praised by no one, nevertheless they have received their reward in the present, according to their purpose and affection; and they obtain no reward from God, but rather punishment, as sacrilegious persons who abuse sacred things for vanity.
By these words Christ does not forbid praying in the material church or in public places, since the Apostle says: “I will that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands” (1 Tim. 2:8), and: “I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people” (Ps. 116:14), and again: “Adore the Lord in his holy court” (Ps. 29:2). And how could we always and without ceasing pray (1 Thess. 5:17) if we did not pray wherever we are?
Finally, there are solemn and public prayers which the ministers of the Church make for the people, which certainly must be made publicly in the church itself. Private prayers of individuals also ought especially to be made in church because of the holiness of the place and the presence of the Sacrament, according to that saying: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7), which Christ applies literally to the material church (Mark 11:17).
Mt 6:6 The Lord therefore forbids praying in the temple and in the corners of the streets in the manner of hypocrites, namely with the desire for human praise or temporal advantage, and also forbids praying only in public places. Therefore He adds: “But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber,” that is, a secret and quiet place; “and when you have shut the door,” so that no one may come in and hinder you or stir you up to vain glory because you are found in so holy a work, and so that you may avoid human observation and praise. For some are accustomed suddenly and vainly to glory when they are found, beyond or contrary to their intention, laudably occupied.
“Pray to your heavenly Father,” the triune and simple God, “in secret.” And “your Father who sees in secret”—for those things which are done in hidden places are not hidden from Him. In a special way God also sees in secret by approval, that is, He mercifully regards and accepts good works which are done in hiddenness in order to avoid the vice of vanity.
A secret and quiet place greatly contributes to the purity and fervor of prayer, because then a man is more secure and is not so often disturbed by sensible things; whence his imagination is more quiet, his intellect more stable, and his will is carried more ardently toward God and remains more firmly fixed in Him, the more it is withdrawn from many things.
The chamber can also be understood spiritually as the heart of man. Thus we ought to enter the chamber of the soul, that is, to return to our heart and to gather our spirit within ourselves, according to that saying: “I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me, for he will speak peace to his people and to those who are converted to the heart” (Ps. 85:9). And to pray to the Father in secret, that is, in the secrecy of the heart, which is open to God alone, as the Savior says: “God is Spirit, and those who adore Him must adore in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
In this way Anna prayed, whose lips alone were moving and whose voice was not heard at all (1 Sam. 1:13). And “your Father who sees in secret,” that is, in the inmost depth of the heart, from whom no thought is hidden (cf. Job 42:2), “will repay you,” not only with what you ask, but will grant you a manifold effect of prayer: namely, a sweet savor in prayer, the infusion of desired grace, and eternal glory—if, however, you pray without growing weary.
Mt 6:16 “And when you fast, do not become as the hypocrites, sad.” Fasting is an act of abstinence, which is a part of temperance. For fasting is a moderate deprivation of food, and it is ordered to many ends, especially to four: namely, to the restraint of concupiscence, to the purity of contemplation, to the amendment of guilt, and to the acquisition of virtues and grace. Hence it is sung: “By bodily fasting You restrain vices, You raise the mind, You bestow virtue and rewards.”
Since, therefore, fasting is an act of virtue, it ought to be done solely for the honor of God, not for empty display. Therefore the Savior says: “When you fast,” that is, when you afflict yourselves bodily by frugality of food, “do not become,” that is, not only do not be, nor be made, but do not even desire to be or to become, “as the sad hypocrites.”
This phrase, “sad hypocrites,” can be read either separately or together. Separately thus: Do not become sad in heart or in outward appearance, as hypocrites are sad either in heart or in outward show. Or together thus: Do not become like sad hypocrites, that is, do not make yourselves similar to sad hypocrites by simulating sorrow in your face as if from great devotion.
“For they disfigure their faces,” that is, they place their faces outside a fitting disposition or natural and customary appearance, by assuming paleness, leanness, or emaciation in their countenance. For according to the various affections of the soul, the face is easily changed. Thus Queen Esther greatly concealed a sad soul with a joyful face (cf. Esth. 15); so hypocrites conceal an empty soul with a mournful face.
Some hypocrites fast so that they may acquire a lean and pale face and thus be thought holy and fasting. Others do not fast and yet, by a feigned disfigurement of face, pretend that they are fasting. There is, as it were, a kind of hypocrites, among whom there are four species of hypocrisy:
The first, when a man pretends to have or to do what he neither has nor does.
The second, when he does good works for empty glory.
The third, when evils are painted over and covered with good appearances, whence below it is said: “Woe to you who are like whitewashed sepulchers” (Matt. 23:27).
The fourth, when a man pretends to wish to be hidden, and yet does this in order to be seen, so that he may be considered not a hypocrite but humble.
Behold how unhappy, vile, and contemptible such people are: for simulators and crafty men, as Job says, call down the wrath of God (cf. Job 36:13). For God is truth itself, but the entire business of hypocrites rests upon falsehood.
“They disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting,” not for the edification of those who see them, but for their own praise. “Amen I say to you, they have received their reward,” which is small, because the joy of hypocrites is, as it were, like a point or a moment (cf. Job 20:5).
Mt 6:17 “But you, when you fast.” It is the custom of Scripture often to change person, time, or number; thus here it descends from the plural to the singular: But you, O faithful one, whoever you may be, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that is, present a sincere countenance and be festive and cheerful, so that you may not appear to men to be fasting, that is, in order to flee vain glory, but [do it] for your heavenly Father, who is in secret.
That is, He dwells in inaccessible light and is incomprehensible, as Isaiah testifies: “Truly you are a hidden God” (Isa. 45:15; cf. 1 Tim. 6:16). Or: who is in secret, that is, who dwells in a humble heart that desires to be hidden, not in a mind that vainly desires to appear.
According to Jerome, Christ speaks according to the custom of the province of Palestine, in which on feast days men anoint their heads; and thus by the anointing of the head and the washing of the face a certain festivity or joy of countenance is signified. For in every virtuous work one ought to rejoice, especially since the Apostle says: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4).
The head can also signify the mind, and the face the conscience. Thus the sense is: Anoint your head, that is, fill your mind with spiritual joy, of which the Psalm says: “God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness” (Ps. 45:7). For there is an evil oil, of which it is written: “Let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head” (Ps. 141:5). And there is a good oil, of which in the Canticle of Canticles it is said: “Your name is poured-out oil” (Song 1:3), that is, sweet, bright, and delightful, like oil. This oil does not belong to hypocrites, according to that saying: “Can the hypocrite delight in the Almighty?” (Job 27:10).
“And wash your face,” that is, cleanse your conscience from corrupt intention and from every stain, as Jeremiah advises: “Wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved” (Jer. 4:14). And Isaiah says: “Wash yourselves, be clean; remove the evil of your thoughts” (Isa. 1:16).
Mt 6:18 “And your heavenly Father, who sees in secret,” that is, who knows the inmost things of the heart and accepts good works done in secret, seeing and approving them. In this way God does not regard works vainly done in public, according to what the Wise Man says: “The Lord does not regard the offerings of the unjust” (Sirach 34:23).
“He will repay you,” with the saving effect of fasting and with an abundant reward, namely: forgiveness, the mitigation of concupiscence, and the grace of contemplation. Finally, that fasting merits illumination of divine wisdom is clear in Daniel: Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, to whom God granted wisdom and knowledge on account of abstinence (Dan. 1:8–20). It also merits the hearing of prayers, as the angel says to Daniel: “From the day when you set your heart to afflict yourself in the sight of your God, your words were heard” (Dan. 10:12).
So great indeed is the power of fasting that Christ says even of the worst demons: “This kind of demon can go out by nothing except by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). These are companions, namely almsgiving and humility.
But because it profits little to abstain from foods unless one abstains from vices, as the Lord asserts: “Behold, in the day of your fast your own will is found; behold, you fast for quarrels and contentions… Is this the fast that I have chosen? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo heavy burdens…” (Isa. 58:3–6).
And again, because fasting is joined with prayer and almsgiving, whence it is read in Tobias: “Prayer is good with fasting and almsgiving” (Tobit 12:8). Therefore, consequently, Christ teaches to uproot vices and to avoid avarice through the giving of alms.
CONTINUE
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