Hypocrisy and Holiness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to authentic actions that proclaim our solidarity with the suffering of people who work for justice and peace for all God’s children in our world.

Housing and Holiness

The Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah examines our Reasons for Judgment and exhorts us to Authentic Fasting That Leads to Blessing.

* [58:1–5] The prophet is commanded to condemn the formalism of the people, specifically their hypocritical fasting.

* [58:6–12] Fasting is not genuine without reforming one’s way of life. A true social morality will ensure prosperity. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 58 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 51 prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought.

* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses The Question About Fasting.

* [9:15] Fasting is a sign of mourning and would be as inappropriate at this time of joy, when Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom, as it would be at a marriage feast. Yet the saying looks forward to the time when Jesus will no longer be with the disciples visibly, the time of Matthew’s church. Then they will fast: see Didache 8:1. (Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. George Meze, SJ, comments that true fasting means sacrificing comfort for the good of others, following Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the Cross; to lose the self in serving God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us that while He is with us, we rejoice, but when He is taken away, we fast. This teaches that we celebrate and fast with Him, participating in both the joys and struggles of our neighbors, in whom Jesus is ever present.

A few weeks ago, I met a student who faced a painful Christmas with her sick and dying grandmother. She was reluctant to go home, fearing the pain it would bring. Yet she chose to spend Christmas with her grandmother. There was sorrow, but amid the tears came great consolation in being present for one another. True togetherness in such difficult moments is always expressed in the quiet celebration of love. In our faith, fasting becomes an opportunity to celebrate God’s love and to bring consolation to others. The grace to fast for love is itself a gift. (Meze, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes True fasting, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD

"All the endeavors for fasting are concerned not about the rejection of various foods as unclean, but about the subjugation of inordinate desire and the maintenance of neighborly love. Charity especially is guarded - food is subservient to charity, speech to charity, customs to charity, and facial expressions to charity. Everything works together for charity alone." (excerpt from Letter 243, 11) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments the passage from Isaiah comes from the experience after the exile when the people returned to Israel and things were not going well. They complained that God is not taking care of them. Isaiah observes the people are not embracing service of God and others.  Almsgiving is a religious activity of God. Why do we practice fasting? It helps to keep Christ at the centre of our life. It is a sign of solidarity. The death of a beloved in many societies is marked by fasting because things are not normal. We fast to recall Jesus died for us. Friar Jude reviews the traditional Catholic rules for fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday that involves meals and abstinence  from meat. We don’t have to overdo it. Fasting is not restricted to food, but to anything that keeps us from reaching out to our neighbour.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 9:14-15 comments that St. John Paul II once called fasting a “therapy for the soul.” It can help us “in the interior effort of listening to God” (Angelus, March 10, 1996). Denying ourselves, even of the most basic things, like food, can help us identify the attitudes that separate us from the Lord. Through fasting, we can release these attitudes to God and so come to a deeper conversion.

Even if health reasons keep you from fasting from food, there are always other things you can do. You can take some of the time you spend watching TV or scrolling on social media and pray instead. You can “fast” from selfishness or from resentment against a neighbor. Whatever you do, know that God wants you to make a sincere offering to him. He wants you to turn your heart to him so that when Lent is over, you will “taste” more of the joy of his resurrection.

“Lord, help me to turn my heart to you.” (Meditation on Matthew 9:14-15, n.d.)

Fr Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Author Lisa Colón DeLay reflects on the purpose behind the asceticism that is commonly found in the teachings and stories of the early desert spirituality.

All the desert abbas and ammas show us that one-off special insights are not what bring us spiritual maturity or peace. Through the layering of situations, struggles, and seasons, we grow more devoted, mature, and wise. The inheritance in the kingdom of heaven means possessing Christlikeness; this inheritance comes in slow disbursements that take diligence and attention to learn and receive. We accomplish this not over weeks or months but over decades—over our lifetime and even into and throughout generations. The place is slow. Let’s get accustomed to that and settle in for the long haul.

The spiritual seeds the ammas and abbas once planted in the fertile soil of seekers can still beautifully bloom now in the soil of you, more than 1,500 years later. This is how the glory of God works. You are the glory of God made manifest. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the Wisdom of the Spirit as we contemplate our Lenten “fasting” and act with a focus on deepening our relationship with God and the people we encounter without hypocrisy.

References

Isaiah, CHAPTER 58 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/58?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9?14 

Meditation on Matthew 9:14-15. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/20/1505893/ 

Meze, G. (2026, February 20). Daily Reflection February 20, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-february-20-2026 

Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Living Tradition. Center for Contemplation and Action. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/living-tradition/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Fasting for the Kingdom of God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 20, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Fire and Truth

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today alert us to the opposition we often encounter from the “world” to the piety, study, and action we pursue as disciples of Jesus.

Pursue Truth

The reading from the Book of Daniel describes the protection of God in the Fiery Furnace.

* [3:24–90] These verses are additions to the Aramaic text of Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were probably first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, but are no longer extant in the original language. The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures.

* [3:25] Azariah: i.e., Abednego; cf. Dn 1:7. (Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

The response is the Prayer of Azariah from Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus dialogues with the Pharisees about Abraham and True Disciples

* [8:31–59] Jesus’ origin (“before Abraham”) and destiny are developed; the truth will free them from sin (Jn 8:34) and death (Jn 8:51).

* [8:31] Those Jews who believed in him: a rough editorial suture, since in Jn 8:37 they are described as trying to kill Jesus.

* [8:33] Have never been enslaved to anyone: since, historically, the Jews were enslaved almost continuously, this verse is probably Johannine irony, about slavery to sin.

* [8:35] A slave…a son: an allusion to Ishmael and Isaac (Gn 16; 21), or to the release of a slave after six years (Ex 21:2; Dt 15:12).

* [8:38] The Father: i.e., God. It is also possible, however, to understand the second part of the verse as a sarcastic reference to descent of the Jews from the devil (Jn 8:44), “You do what you have heard from [your] father.”

* [8:39] The works of Abraham: Abraham believed; cf. Rom 4:11–17; Jas 2:21–23. (John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

Carol Zuegner comments that God doesn’t ask her to face a fiery furnace, but he does ask her to find him in all things, to live out the Gospel in large and small ways.

I have to face the truth in my everyday life that my sins of omission and commission are weighing me down. It is those small sins that add up: an unkind word here, paying more attention to things than people, being too busy to pray or fast or abstain, holding back my forgiveness to satisfy some grudge. My own furnace is little flames of turning away from God and my best self because it’s convenient or easier or satisfies some petty urge.

The truth is that it is the small things that animate the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself and make up the mosaic of our lives: To take the time to listen, to care, to do the right thing, to stand up for what’s right, to take the time for thanks, for a kind word.

The truth is we face the tests of our faith every day. We won’t pass all of the tests, but we can work on being and doing more than we are now. (Zuegner, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The upright of heart,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Do you know who the upright of heart are? They are those who wish what God wishes. Therefore, do not try to twist God's will to you own but correct your will to that of God. The will of God is a rule of conduct. By it you have the means of being converted and of correcting your evil ways." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 93,18) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 8:31-42 comments that Jesus promises all of us that when we “remain” in his word, the truth contained in that word will set us free (John 8:31, 32). We are all on a journey toward that freedom.

When we dwell on Jesus and ponder his words, we find the grip of sin loosening. We begin to feel a fire in our hearts because we are experiencing the power of his love. And that love leads us to action. It leads us to care for the least among us, and it leads us to share the good news of Christ with those trapped in sin. We discover the paradoxical secret to happiness: that freedom comes not from going our own way, but from following Jesus, the Savior who truly sets us free!

“Jesus, thank you for your words, which bring life to my soul, and for your love, which frees me from the bondage of sin!” (Meditation on John 8:31-42, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes that the passage from Daniel is from the 2nd Century BCE, during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the persecution of the Seleucid Empire, but is set in the time of Nebuchadnezzar and the exile in Babylon, four centuries earlier. The young men in the furnace are protected by a fourth person who looks like a “Son of God”. Friar Jude notes that the dialogue of Jesus with the Pharisees in John's Gospel, the teaching is about “Who God is”, “What He wants of us”, and how much He loves us.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces contemplative theologian Belden Lane who shares the countercultural stance of the desert abbas and ammas.

A second major theme in the theological grounding of these desert Christians was their emphasis on radical forgiveness. They were very demanding in the discipline they embraced, but the hardness was always anchored in love. They were deeply sensitive to the wounds that the brothers and sisters invariably brought with them into the desert. Amma Syncletica emphasized that assuming a desert life as a monk didn’t automatically make anybody holy. She knew that everyone came into the monastery with a whole lot of interior baggage. So wound work, healing within the broken places they carried inside, was incredibly important…. 

The abbas and ammas knew that this inner work was crucial in one’s spiritual growth. It’s essential to the discipline of the heart. But as resolute as they were in demanding this soul work, they were just as resolute in practicing a radical forgiveness. They were always slow to judge others, seeing the best in the younger and weaker brothers and sisters, putting the finest possible interpretation on their behavior…. (Rohr, n.d.)

As we are reminded of the challenges from the “world” to our decision to invite the Spirit to inform our actions in accord with the truth about God and Love revealed by Christ.

References

Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/3 

John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/8?31 

Meditation on John 8:31-42. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/04/09/1244010/ 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Countercultural Stance. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-countercultural-stance/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=apr9 

Zuegner, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040925.html