The Readings for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time help us to focus on the virtue of humility. In the Gospel of St. Luke we are presented with two individuals praying in the Temple. One is a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector. The Pharisee is puffed up with the sin of pride. In his prayer he is “exalting himself” and telling God that he is so much better than everyone else, “I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” The tax collector’s prayer was much simpler and was filled with humility, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” He was humbling himself before God.
In the First Reading from Sirach, we are told that the “prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it reaches its goal”. Why is the prayer of the humble more powerful than the prayer of the arrogant? The refrain of the Responsorial Psalm gives the answer: “The poor one called and the Lord heard”. The poor have nothing and must depend on the Lord for everything. The more we have the greater the temptation to depend on ourselves more than God. We can become self-centered and blind to our faults. We see this clearly in the Pharisee. It is interesting to note that when the Pharisee lists all that he has done, he concludes that he is better than everyone else.
The Second Reading (2 Tim) offers a sharp contrast. St. Paul states that he has been faithful throughout his life and “fought the good fight”; however, unlike the Pharisee, he focuses on God rather than himself. He states: “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength…The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” He does not consider himself better than everyone else. In speaking about this particular Gospel passage, Pope Francis states, “If God prefers humility it is not to dishearten us; rather, humility is the necessary condition to be raised by Him, so as to experience the mercy that comes to fill our emptiness. If the prayer of the proud does not reach God’s heart, the humility of the poor opens it wide. God has a weakness for the humble ones.
Before a humble heart, God opens his heart entirely. It is this humility that the Virgin Mary expresses in the Canticle of the Magnificat: ‘he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden [..] his mercy is in those who fear him from generation to generation’ (Luke 1:48, 50). Let her help us, our Mother, to pray with a humble heart. And we, let us repeat that beautiful prayer three times: ‘Oh God, be merciful to me a sinner’” (General Audience, June 1, 2016).Oct272019
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Humility
The Readings for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time help us to focus on the virtue of humility. In the Gospel of St. Luke we are presented with two individuals praying in the Temple. One is a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector. The Pharisee is puffed up with the sin of pride. In his prayer he is “exalting himself” and telling God that he is so much better than everyone else, “I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” The tax collector’s prayer was much simpler and was filled with humility, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” He was humbling himself before God.
In the First Reading from Sirach, we are told that the “prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it reaches its goal”. Why is the prayer of the humble more powerful than the prayer of the arrogant? The refrain of the Responsorial Psalm gives the answer: “The poor one called and the Lord heard”. The poor have nothing and must depend on the Lord for everything. The more we have the greater the temptation to depend on ourselves more than God. We can become self-centered and blind to our faults. We see this clearly in the Pharisee. It is interesting to note that when the Pharisee lists all that he has done, he concludes that he is better than everyone else.
The Second Reading (2 Tim) offers a sharp contrast. St. Paul states that he has been faithful throughout his life and “fought the good fight”; however, unlike the Pharisee, he focuses on God rather than himself. He states: “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength…The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” He does not consider himself better than everyone else. In speaking about this particular Gospel passage, Pope Francis states, “If God prefers humility it is not to dishearten us; rather, humility is the necessary condition to be raised by Him, so as to experience the mercy that comes to fill our emptiness. If the prayer of the proud does not reach God’s heart, the humility of the poor opens it wide. God has a weakness for the humble ones.
Before a humble heart, God opens his heart entirely. It is this humility that the Virgin Mary expresses in the Canticle of the Magnificat: ‘he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden [..] his mercy is in those who fear him from generation to generation’ (Luke 1:48, 50). Let her help us, our Mother, to pray with a humble heart. And we, let us repeat that beautiful prayer three times: ‘Oh God, be merciful to me a sinner’” (General Audience, June 1, 2016).Category: Publications
Posted by: Margaret