almsgiving

Our hearts attach themselves to the things we treasure

The gospel text for Ash Wednesday (March 6) deliberately links the spiritual disciplines of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (Matt. 6:1-6; 16-18) with storing up of treasures (6:19-21). The passage warns that if these spiritual exercises are done only to impress people, without God, they lose their meaning and we become hypocrites.