"No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great." St. John Chrysostom

Is it a wonder why Jesus connected love of neighbor with love of God? Our love of God is never isolated from our love of neighbor. God is not impressed with our virtues or our acts of denials, if in turn they do not lead us to care for the others around us who are in need. How often in the Old Testament God said through the prophets that the people's sacrifices meant nothing if they did not care for the orphans, widows and those who were hungry? It is both and. When we do penances, we also must do almsgiving, if we want our sacrifices to be pleasing to the Lord and to bear fruit.