Cycle C - Year I:  

27 October 2013: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

 (Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 18:9-14

Pray with humility.

We grieve with the people of Central Visayas as they cope with the devastation of a powerful earthquake mid this month of October. The loss of life and property, especially historical and cultural landmarks, religious heritage and treasures is greatly shocking and lamentable. The pain and suffering of survivors are just overwhelming.

Some people ask why did such a catastrophe happen to people known to be religious and God-fearing? We don't really know. One clergy in the affected areas put it this way: "It is the law of nature. Nobody could be blamed." Indeed, we just have to accept that such tragedies are part of life, a part of nature.

Yet it is also heart warming to see that in the midst of loss of life and untold destruction of religious and historical structures, the faith of survivors remains steadfast and solid. When everything else seems lost and gone, these people turn to prayers for comfort and hope of a new beginning.

Prayer, that is the theme of the Gospel reading for this Sunday's liturgy and the proper attitude when we pray.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in order to teach us to pray. He does this by contrasting two different attitudes towards prayer.

The first is that of the Pharisee who went up the temple area to pray. The Pharisee represented those who take pride in their religious practices, exalted himself at the expense of others. Thus, his prayer is a litany of prideful boasts of what he did as he compared himself with those he despised.

The second is the tax collector, who represented those despised by religious people, humbled himself before God and begged for His mercy. His prayer was heard by God because he had remorse for his sins. He sought God with humility rather than with pride.

How does this parable relate to our day-to-day living? What is the point or lesson that Jesus wants us to learn from this parable?

We can reflect that this parable presents both an opportunity as well as a warning. We realize that humility helps us to see ourselves as we really are, weak and sinful and thus in need of God's grace and mercy. On the other hand, pride can only lead us to illusion and self-deception. Because God cannot hear us if we boast and despise others.

In other words, God dwells with the humble of heart who recognize their own sinfulness and who acknowledge God's mercy and saving grace.  

In practical life, do you humbly seek God's mercy in prayer, and do you show mercy and kindness to others, especially those difficult to love and to forgive?

As Christians, we know that before God we stand tallest when we go down in our knees to pray and pray with humility. Because keeping faith in God through prayers is our only hope when everything else seems to fail.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!