SOCL, Ash Wednesday

Cycle A, B, C

See In our visibility-obsessed culture, good deeds have become content: charity livestreams, volunteering photo-ops, and crisis response videos proliferate our feeds. The very acts meant to reflect our deepest values now function primarily as social currency, traded for likes and followers. We've mastered the art of performing generosity while bypassing its heart.

These performances play out in carefully curated spaces: social media platforms where donation receipts become profile badges, community service becomes resume fodder, and prayers become status updates. The physical world increasingly serves as mere backdrop for documenting our virtues. We stand at intersections of compassion and calculation, constantly measuring the return on investment of our good deeds.

Yet within this paradoxical landscape lies possibility: what if we practiced invisibility as a spiritual discipline? The unseen gift, the unshared prayer, the undocumented fast—these create spaces where transformation happens not through recognition but through the mysterious power of actions performed solely for their own sake. The richest expressions of our humanity may be those that will never be seen, liked, or shared.

Listen

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflect

(Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

Jesus retreats to pray in solitude, stepping away from crowds and acclaim to commune with the Father. Consider your own prayer life—how often it's shaped by external validation rather than inner authenticity. What would change if you approached prayer as a secret conversation rather than a performance? Let today's quiet moments become sanctuaries where pretense falls away.

The Pharisees stand prominently in public spaces, prayers designed for maximum visibility. Reflect on the motivations behind your spiritual practices—whether they serve appearance or transformation. What parts of your spiritual life exist primarily for others to see? Practice one act of generosity today that remains completely hidden from public view.

Christ anoints his head and washes his face while fasting, maintaining ordinary appearance during spiritual discipline. Examine how you might cultivate inner depth without external signals of spirituality. How might ordinary moments become extraordinary through hidden intention? Find joy in the secret practices that shape your character when no one is watching.

Pray

Lord, you know the hidden corners of our hearts and still love us completely. Help us embrace the discipline of invisibility—giving without recognition, praying without audience, sacrificing without acclaim. Teach us to find worth in what remains unseen, to discover joy in actions that receive no earthly reward, and to trust that you honor what happens in shadow. Transform our hearts until we seek your approval alone.