Performing Religious Acts in Secret

"Be on guard against performing religious acts for people to see." (Matthew 6: 1)

• Give alms in secret.
  
• Pray in secret.
  
• Fast in secret.
  

Jesus intention in giving the above counsel is not to make a fetish of secrecy in the observance of spiritual works. The idea is rather to point to the purity of intention in which we should approach God in everything. Man's native attitude is self-centeredness. Unaided by grace, our concupiscence comes into play in everything. Jesus is saying, "When you approach your heavenly Father in prayer and spiritual works, forget yourself and focus on God and he wants". This seems almost impossible except for the grace we receive in Baptism to deal with our concupiscence.