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Matthew 6:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Matthew 6:1-3
New Catholic Bible
The True Practice of Religion[a]
Chapter 6
Giving Alms in Secret. 1 “Beware of performing righteous deeds before others in order to impress them. If you do so, you will receive no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, whenever you give alms, do not trumpet your generosity, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets in order to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
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- Matthew 6:1 Almsgiving (vv. 2-4), prayer (vv. 5-15), and fasting (vv. 16-18) are characteristics of the Jewish religion, or of the “righteous.” Jesus does not teach other practices but is concerned with the spirit of our religious acts so that they may lead to God’s presence and bring the joy of being children of God. Believers do not vaunt themselves or make a show of their religion; they listen to God. True religion is authentic spiritual life rather than spectacle and confusion or human respect.
