The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

How different are our prayers, and consequently how different is God's response to them. We have before us two very different types of prayer in today's Gospel.

On the one hand we have a man who can see no evil in himself. He is blinded by his own pride and vanity. It may very well be true that he did all the things that he boasts about in his prayer: fasting, tithing, etc., and he may also have avoided some of the grosser sins he lists: extortion, adultery, etc. but, we can obviously question his "justice". Even though he says that he is not unjust, the Gospel tells us that he was not justified.

What this poor man failed to do is to crush his foolish pride and vanity. He never truly examined himself. His superficiality in his examination of himself betrays a very childish self-centered attitude. We hear the childish remarks today of many that because they have not actually killed anyone or robbed anyone that they have not sinned. They forget that to harbor hatred, jealousy or envy are all sins too and account one just as guilty as if he had physically committed these deeds. God accepts the desire for the deed.

His prayer to God is obviously more one of appearances rather than true prayer. He stands in the temple so that everyone may see him. How many come to Mass only to make an appearance? How few enter the Church to truly pray in the presence of God? Many enter the door of the Church without changing their thoughts or attitude that they carry with them in the world. They fail to grasp the profound difference between the house of God and the houses of men. In their pride and vanity they consider themselves just and pleasing to God because they have refrained from the grosser vices and have superficially kept their religious obligations.

The hypocrisy is profound. Their pride and vanity which becomes so evident to everyone else appears to have taken possession of them without them even realizing that it is there. They appear quite unable to examine their conscience in any detail. Such poor misguided souls have failed to cooperate with the graces that God has given them. God's grace, when it is despised, is then taken away and these poor souls cannot even see themselves as they truly are.

On the other hand, we see the publican. This man sees no justice in himself. We have no record of what this man's sins are, but we see that he considers himself a great sinner nonetheless. He probably is not guilty of many grosser sins just as the Pharisee, but the publican cooperating with the grace of God sees the infinite distance between himself and God. He sees his unworthiness and the many sins that he has committed. He knows that no offense against God is a small offense because of the infinite dignity of God.

The publican is truthful to himself and therefore is completely humbled as he examines himself before God. He sees himself not as the world sees him, nor as he himself would like to see him, but as God sees him. There is an infinite gap between God and the sinner. And in truth there is no justice in us that is not His gift to us. That leaves the publican and all of mankind in the same situation: We must plead for the mercy of God. "Lord be merciful to me a sinner." This is the truth and humility that we must open our eyes to see about ourselves if we are to make any progress in the spiritual life. It is principally in this humility (truth) that we are made conformable (and therefore pleasing) to God who is Truth Itself.

We need to begin our prayers with a prayer to God for the light to know ourselves. This grace is absolutely necessary for us to make a worthy prayer. And with this grace we must then examine ourselves in detail so that this light from God will reveal us to ourselves. Once we are armed with this understanding, we beg of God the grace for true repentance for our sins. And it is in this situation that the publican became able to pray for God's mercy and that we too must strive to reach. In this state we become presentable to the eyes of God. In this humbled state, unable to hold our heads up for shame, we can come to God and truly pray. And in this state He is most pleased with us because now the truth is in us.

We have become empty vessels that now God can fill with His graces. The pride and vanity and all other evil and vice have been rejected and cast out so that now there is room for God's grace to come and dwell within our souls. Let us come to God's house in this spirit and humbly approach Him in the Sacraments so that we too may like the publican leave there justified.

Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?