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The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

In the Gospel today (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus gave the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector “to those who were convinced of their own righteousness” (v. 9). While the tax collector displayed a tremendous heart of humility before God, the Pharisee exhibited an inward pride that lacked the need for forgiveness.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ and with one another, so that “we receive from him whatever we ask.” Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer. (#2631)

In order for us to offer “righteous and pure prayer,” we must first examine our consciences in the light of how we measure up to our model: Jesus the Christ. Then, in humility, we acknowledge our failings and trust in the divine mercy of the same Christ, for he is merciful.

In the Mass, we follow this right order by first convicting ourselves of sin in the Confideor. Then, we implore the mercy of God in the Kyrie. That mercy is then declared in the liturgical readings from Scripture and then applied to our lives as we receive the sacrificial body and blood of Jesus Christ, which takes away our sin.

In the first reading, we learn that “the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds” (Sirach 35:17). Humility of heart is essential in the Christian life of prayer. As Saint Augustine aptly put it: “Man is a beggar before God.” We should imitate the powerful prayer of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, whose “Act of Offering” in Story of a Soul is quoted in paragraph #2011 of the Catechism:

I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for your love alone … In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is blemished in your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in your own justice and to receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself.

When we recognize that death is near and our eternity will consist of either eternal hell or eternally possessing God in heaven, humility is only a footstep away. Our lives are short. At the end of our earthly exile, the only thing that will matter to us is whether we die in a state of friendship with God, which is the state of grace.

Saint Paul reflects upon his own imminent death in the second reading (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18). Can we say like he did that “the crown of righteousness awaits me” because “I have competed well” and “I have kept the faith”? As our elder brother in the Faith, St. Paul’s exclamation encourages us to continue the struggle to live lives of heroic holiness in service of the Gospel.