Rend Your Heart, Not Your Garments

Rend your heart, not your garments: discover the hidden treasures of Lent in secret prayer, fasting, and mercy.

First Reading

Joel 2:12-18

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?'”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

Gospel

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

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 and in the streets to win the praise 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 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 say to you, they have 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 and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

The Hidden Treasures of Lent

On Ash Wednesday, we embark on a forty-day Lenten journey through the desert of prayer, renewal, and return to the Lord. Echoing the prophets before and after him, Joel admonishes interior cleansing over exterior observances. Instead of fasting ostentatiously and pompously tearing tunics, the Lord desires a just and merciful heart mirroring the divine character. An egotistic, callous heart experiences the divine fire as wrath, but a humble, contrite heart bathes in the flames of divine clemency: “For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment” (Joel 2:13).

Like Joel, Jesus spurs the disciples to authenticity, warning them not to parade their righteous deeds before others to gain praise. Unself-conscious almsgiving does not pat itself on the back. Jesus draws us to his and our heavenly Father “who sees in secret.” Residing in the depths of our heart, the Father hears the prayers of his children in the “inner room” accessible only to God. Against religious hypocrites, Jesus advises his disciples to fast with serenity, offering their hunger to the Father without fanfare. Shielded from human eyes, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are three hidden treasures offered to the Father in Lent.

Traditional Chinese Translation

《撕裂你的心腸，不是你的衣服》
全心全意地轉向我
不要把衣服撕裂。
禁食的臉不要炫耀；
榮耀不是靠偽裝憔悴竊取的。