Today’s readings are about something that our world often misunderstands.
They are about what is hidden.
What happens when nobody is watching.
What God sees when everyone else sees nothing.
The first reading is full of drama.
Elijah is about to be taken up into heaven.
The great prophet is reaching the end of his mission.
Elisha follows him faithfully from place to place.
Gilgal.
Bethel.
Jericho.
The Jordan.
Again and again Elijah says:
“Stay here.”
Again and again Elisha refuses.
“No. I will not leave you.”
The public miracle comes at the end.
The waters part.
The fiery chariot appears.
Elijah is taken into heaven.
Elisha receives his mantle.
It is dramatic.
Memorable.
Extraordinary.
But that moment did not come out of nowhere.
It was built upon years of hidden faithfulness.
Years of obedience.
Years of service.
Years of following God’s call.
The public moment rested upon a hidden life.
The same principle appears in the Gospel.
Jesus speaks about almsgiving.
Prayer.
Fasting.
Three pillars of Jewish piety.
Three pillars of Christian life as well.
And what concerns Him?
Not whether people pray.
Not whether people fast.
Not whether people give.
But why.
Again and again He repeats the same phrase:
“Your Father who sees what is done in secret.”
That is the key.
The Father sees.
Human beings naturally want to be noticed.
We want recognition.
Approval.
Praise.
We like people to know when we have done something well.
That desire runs very deep.
And so Jesus warns His disciples.
Do not turn religion into a performance.
Do not pray in order to be admired.
Do not give in order to impress.
Do not fast in order to look holy.
Because if admiration is what we are seeking, admiration is all we will get.
One of the dangers of religion is that it can become about appearances.
A person can look very holy while loving praise more than God.
A person can appear devout while seeking attention.
A person can perform religious actions while the heart remains unchanged.
Jesus is not condemning public prayer.
After all, He Himself prayed publicly.
The Church prays publicly every day.
The Mass is public worship.
That is not the problem.
The problem is using God to gain attention for ourselves.
There is something wonderfully liberating about today’s Gospel.
It reminds us that God sees what nobody else sees.
The hidden Rosary.
The hidden sacrifice.
The hidden struggle against temptation.
The hidden act of forgiveness.
The hidden kindness.
The hidden generosity.
The hidden prayer offered in the middle of the night.
Much of the most important work in the Church is invisible.
The elderly person faithfully praying every day.
The parent quietly teaching children to pray.
The widow offering suffering for her family.
The parishioner who spends years serving without recognition.
The person who fights temptation and never speaks about it.
The person who comes faithfully to Mass week after week.
The world notices none of it.
God notices all of it.
We often measure success by what can be seen.
Numbers.
Results.
Recognition.
Achievements.
God measures differently.
He looks first at the heart.
He sees motives.
Intentions.
Love.
Fidelity.
That is why so many saints spent years in hiddenness.
Think of Nazareth.
Thirty years of the hidden life of Christ.
Thirty years.
Most of the earthly life of the Son of God passed in silence.
No miracles.
No crowds.
No sermons.
Just faithful obedience.
Daily work.
Daily prayer.
Daily love.
The world would have called those years unimportant.
The Father saw something else.
Perhaps that is a comfort for many of us.
Most Christians will never do anything dramatic.
Most will never become famous saints.
Most will never perform great public works.
But every Christian is called to hidden holiness.
To hidden faithfulness.
To hidden love.
And that is where sanctity is usually formed.
Not in extraordinary moments.
But in ordinary fidelity.
A prayer said faithfully.
A temptation resisted.
A sacrifice offered.
A duty carried out lovingly.
A heart turned towards God when nobody else notices.
Elisha’s public mission began because of years of hidden fidelity.
And Jesus tells us today that our Father sees every hidden act of love.
Nothing is wasted.
Nothing is forgotten.
Nothing escapes His notice.
For the Father who sees in secret sees everything.
And one day He will reveal the beauty of those hidden acts far more clearly than we can imagine now.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 