We must always be willing to praise God with our lips. In today’s parable we are given great contrast between these two figures. The Pharisee proceeds to exalt his own deeds while the tax collector humbly prays with a contrite heart. We too must come to model ourself after the humility of this tax collector.
From the Book of Sirach we were told, “The Lord is a God of justice, who knows no favorites.” The Pharisee acts opposite to this because he is quick to point out that he “[fasts] twice a week” and “[pays] tithes on [his] whole income.” On the other hand, the tax collector cries out to God’s infinite mercy, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
We must remain on guard against falling into the pride of this Pharisee. We cannot think that due to all the religious things that we do that we are better than others. We must clothe ourself with the virtue of humility which allows us to always remain on guard against such thoughts that might form inside of our mind.
From the Book of Sirach we are told how important that the prayer of the humble is. “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” Through such humility we are modeled after this tax collector whose simple prayer of humility pierced into the Heavens. Prayer can only take on such a manifestation if we are willing to place our trust not in ourself, but in God.
As we journey through the Sacred Mysteries of this Holy Mass such a reality should be made so within us. We do not just jump into the Mass, but we first turn towards the infinite mercy of God. There we are called upon to “acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to enter into these sacred mysteries.” We then call out to God with a contrite heart, “I confess to almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do.”
These words are not just vain words which make a list of all the great works that we have performed. We understand that salvation is a gift which comes to us from God. No matter how many good works we have performed this does not make up for mortal sin which brings death to our soul and thus our salvation. It is for this reason that we humbly move to the sacrament of confession in order that we may be forgiven of the sins that we have committed in order that we may be healed in God’s mercy and forgiveness.
The Catholic Church teaches that “faith without works is dead,” but at the same time acknowledges the need for a contrite heart that calls out to the infinite mercy of God. These works serve as a response to our commitment to the gospel and Christ which must be given of us. Let us choose to be like this tax collector who in humility “beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
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