Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (6: 1-6, 16-18) in which Jesus tells his disciples “Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice, by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven”.  Fr Paul notes that today’s Ash Wednesday reading, from the Gospel of Matthew, is one of those wonderful passages where Matthew makes his message memorable through repetition. We hear several words and phrases three times. This also happens several times in the Sermon on the Mount. This Gospel enshrines the practice of the three good works of Judaism, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We hear in this Gospel a warning against the parading good works: they should be known only to our Father in heaven. Most of us will have digested this triple lesson, but more relevant is the insistence that what matters is the relationship between ourselves and our Father in heaven, which is expressed in these good works.Fr Paul notes today’s Gospel Lesson – What matters is the relationship between God and us.