May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
Last Sunday our readings focused on the importance of prayer
and, in particular, we heard about the importance of being persistent in
prayer. Today our readings speak to us
about our attitude in prayer. We are
shown today how we are to pray.
In our first reading from the book of Sirach, we hear that
the prayer of the lowly person pierces the clouds. We are promised that the prayer offered in
humility and obedience is heard in the presence of God. The petition of the lowly one is received in
the court of the Most High God.
In our reading from the Gospel today, the Lord Jesus tells a
parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness. In the parable, two men enter the Temple to
pray. One of the men was a Pharisee. This means that he was a devout follower of
the law. The actions of his life were
good. His life was close to the law of
God, but his heart was very far from God.
We see this in the prayer that he offers. The Pharisee addressed his prayer, not to
God, but to himself. He thanked God that
he was not like other men. He proclaimed
that he was not greedy, dishonest, or adulterous. He spoke of his discipline of fasting and of
the offerings that he made. Usually,
dear brothers and sisters, people come to God to confess their sins and they
need to be reminded of their goodness.
The Pharisee forgot his sins and confessed his own goodness to God. He was a man filled with pride. He was filled with spiritual pride, and that
is the most dangerous kind. The Pharisee
actually thanked God that he was better than other men.
The second man who entered the Temple was a tax
collector. It is likely that he did not
follow the law of God very closely in his life.
Tax collectors at that time were known for extorting more money from the
people than the people actually owed.
The actions of the tax collector were not righteous. He prayed however, with humility and
contrition. His only words were, “O God,
be merciful to me a sinner.” The tax
collector addressed his prayer to God with sincerity and humility, and he was
heard. The Lord Jesus tells us that the
prayer of the tax collector was granted.
The apostle Paul was a man who prayed with sincerity and
humility. Though he preached with power
and wrote with passion, Paul recognized that it was the power of the Lord that
allowed him to compete well, to finish the race, and to keep the faith. All of the good things that Paul had done
were the humble and obedient response to the invitation of God. Our reading
today from St. Paul comes from the twilight of his apostolic ministry. He was prepared to meet the Lord face to face
and to receive the crown of righteousness that the Lord had prepared for
him. After years of his humble and
obedient prayers being received, now the life of Paul would be received into
the presence of the Father. It was to
God alone that Paul would give the glory.
Today we are shown the need for humility in our prayer. Our prayer is a response to the invitation of
God. We come before the Lord with reverence and awe and we are humbled by the
love poured out for us. We enter into this building carefully and prayerfully
because this is no ordinary place. This
is the holy ground sent apart by the consecration of Almighty God. Here we enter into the holy presence of God,
and we ask for mercy. Several times in
the celebration of the sacred liturgy, we ask the Lord to be merciful to
us. We ask for his mercy for the times
when we have not been faithful. We ask
for his mercy for the times when we have not been generous. We asked for mercy for the times when we have
lived like the tax collector and prayed like the Pharisee.
And now, in the holy presence of God, and face to face with
the crucified Savior who offers himself on the altar, may our hearts approach
the Heart of Christ and cry out, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
