Jesus says: "Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them." (Mtt 6: 1) Saint Paul says: "We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us." (2 Cor 5: 20) How can we find the right balance between the interior and the exterior life? Many people say they are "spiritual but not religious" and that "religious belief is a private matter." Others look to use religion for political and nationalistic influence. The Christian vocation, therefore, requires discernment. We are called to be missionary disciples but not proselytizers. We are called to active but not activist. We are neither pietist nor Pelagian, rather our mission is to spread the joy of the Gospel. This is not for our own benefit. If that is the case we would be guilty of betraying our Christian identity: "You received without payment; give without payment." (Mtt 10: 8) The encounter with Christ transforms our lives so that our Lenten journey takes us back to the source of our hope so that we might rejoice all the more in the resurrection: "For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them." (2 Cor 5: 14-15)
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