- First Reading: Eph 1:11–14
- Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:1–2, 4–5, 12–13
- Gospel: Luke 12:1–7
“There’s nothing concealed that will not be revealed.”
I remember a lesson they taught us in seminary as they prepared us for life as priests: while you have a right to a private life, you do not have a right to a secret life. As people with a public role, we have to remember that distinction. Not everything about our lives needs to be known by everyone, but we cannot build a secret, alternative life.
I think that applies to everyone in the Christian life. We have our public persona, the person we try to present ourselves as. Who we are away from everyone’s view should match that. Yes, we all struggle with sin. We all struggle to live as Christ has taught us. And yet we are called to imitate him. We wouldn’t want everyone to know every little struggle, but we can’t be a totally different person when no one is looking.
If we spend our lives developing a secret life, away from everyone else’s view, we will never become who we’re truly created to be. There has to be consistency between who we are when no one sees us and who we are when everyone sees us. As Christ tells us, there’s nothing secret that will not be revealed. Our neighbor may never know what we do when no one is looking, but God himself does. And these things are revealed in the judgment.
We have to remind ourselves of that. We’re looking for consistency within our lives. And yes, there are days when you put on a smile and don’t feel like smiling. That is not the issue. Do we have the same moral life in secret as we do in public? Do we have the same life of prayer, or do we pray only when we think someone sees us?
Are we doing those good things both when someone might notice and when we think no one will? We have to look at ourselves honestly, truly evaluate our lives, and ask: Do I have that consistency? Am I living as I should when no one watches, or am I simply looking for attention?
If we are struggling, let us turn to the Holy Spirit and ask for his help to bring those two lives together. Whether anyone watches or not, let us behave as Christ has called us to, trying to imitate him and live out the life he has called us to live.