Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
What is true of our prayer can be true of our penance: sometimes, we make things long to prove our greatness. Jesus notes how the pagans speak for great lengths, as though how much you can say about God proves how well you know Him. Likewise, we can take on many lengthy penances as a way of proving how well we love Him. But one can pray at length without knowing God, and take on many penances without loving God.
Thankfully, God does want us to know Him and love Him, and so He provides us with a guide. Jesus gives us a short, clear prayer that all Christians can say with ease: the Our Father. If we can say anything about God, we can say that He is our Father. This is the heart of our prayer. As we go through Lent, it should likewise be the heart of our penance. What we offer God should be like the offering of a child to its father in love. We can take on many great things, but if our penance does not help us call God “Our Father,” we are babbling like the pagans.