Cycle C - Year II:  

23 October 2016: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 18:9-14

Pray with a humble heart!

Do we still find time to pray, or do we still believe in praying?  In a busy and noisy world, sometimes we easily get distracted or find it hard to pray. But never give up on praying.  Even when the words are hard to say, God knows our prayer. For it is when we go down to our knees in prayer, that we stand tallest before God.

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

In the Gospel Jesus paints a vivid story of two men in prayer. He tells a parable of a Pharisee and tax collector to teach about the nature of prayer and our relationship with God.  The parable presents contrasting and very different attitudes  towards prayer.  

The gist of the story: a Pharisee went up the temple area to pray. In

biblical times, the Pharisees take pride in their religious practices, often exalting themselves publicly at the expense of others.  In the parable, the Pharisee's prayer is a litany of prideful boasts of the good things he has done, as he compared himself with those he despised.

The other guy who went to the temple to pray is a tax collector, considered as a public sinner because of their corrupt practices. The tax collector "stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beats his breast..." and asked for God's mercy. The parable concludes that God heard this man's prayer because he sought God in humility rather than pride.

What is the 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 before God, weak and sinful and thus in need of His grace and mercy.

God dwells with the humble of heart who recognize their own sinfulness and who acknowledge God's mercy and saving grace. Even so, God cannot hear our prayer if we boast and despise others who are sinful like us.

In practical life, Jesus invites us to examine our hearts rather than looking at others' fault. Let us humble seek God's mercy in prayer, and show mercy and kindness as well to others, especially those who seem difficult to love and forgive.  Praying for God's mercy and forgiveness is our only hope when everything else seems to fail.

The Church also celebrates World Mission Sunday with the theme: "Missionary Church, Witness of Mercy."   Let us be generous with our prayers and material support to the mission. We also pray that we all become instrument of mercy here on earth, for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!