Oct. 27, 2019 30th Sunday C - Honesty and Humility in Prayer
Oct. 27, 2019 30th Sunday C - Honesty and Humility in Prayer
How honest with God are we in prayer? A woman invited some of her friends over for dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old son and asked, "Would you like to say the blessing?" He replied, "Mommy, I don’t know what to say.” She replied, “Just say what you heard Mommy say.” The boy bowed his head and prayed, “Lord, why did I invite all these people to dinner?”
Sometimes do we find it difficult to be humble and honest in prayer? Perhaps we’re more comfortable with traditional prayers of the Church such as Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. These are wonderful rich prayers that are instructive and comforting. However, there are times that we need a heart-to-heart dialogue with God that expresses what we truly experience at the level of our hearts. We need honest prayers to directly share our feelings with God, to talk to Him about our life, our anxieties, and our desires. I came across one such prayer, “Dear Jesus, after all these years of following you, I still haven’t learned the lesson of true humility. My feelings are easily ruffled. I’m quick to take offense, and I’m slow to forgive. Please teach me how to be humble before you and others.”
It’s not enough to be honest in prayer; one also has to be humble in prayer. The Pharisee prayed with great honesty, “'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.” From what he said about himself in that prayer, he sounded like a man of discipline, prayer, and religiosity. We sense though from the tone of his prayer that he felt morally superior and self-congratulatory. While he looked down upon others’ shortcomings, wasn’t he blind to his own shortcomings? When we judge our neighbor, we close our hearts to God. Can any of us stand before God and boast that we are above reproach?
Saint Augustine wrote “Only through the degrees of humility can one reach heaven. God is infinitely perfect, and pride keeps us far from Him, but through humility we are able to approach Him.” While it may be easy for us to measure our goodness by things we do, God sees whether we depend on him for his mercy. Only with the humble attitude before God can we admit that we need him and we need his forgiveness. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” the tax collector prayed with his head bowed in profound sorrow and contrition. As we heard from the Psalm and the Book of Sirach, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor...The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” When we have true humility, we can see ourselves as we really are in God's eyes. Do we come today before God seeking God's help and mercy? As we receive Holy Communion, let us remember that all of us are made in his image and likeness.
How honest with God are we in prayer? A woman invited some of her friends over for dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old son and asked, "Would you like to say the blessing?" He replied, "Mommy, I don’t know what to say.” She replied, “Just say what you heard Mommy say.” The boy bowed his head and prayed, “Lord, why did I invite all these people to dinner?”
Sometimes do we find it difficult to be humble and honest in prayer? Perhaps we’re more comfortable with traditional prayers of the Church such as Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. These are wonderful rich prayers that are instructive and comforting. However, there are times that we need a heart-to-heart dialogue with God that expresses what we truly experience at the level of our hearts. We need honest prayers to directly share our feelings with God, to talk to Him about our life, our anxieties, and our desires. I came across one such prayer, “Dear Jesus, after all these years of following you, I still haven’t learned the lesson of true humility. My feelings are easily ruffled. I’m quick to take offense, and I’m slow to forgive. Please teach me how to be humble before you and others.”
Saint Augustine wrote “Only through the degrees of humility can one reach heaven. God is infinitely perfect, and pride keeps us far from Him, but through humility we are able to approach Him.” While it may be easy for us to measure our goodness by things we do, God sees whether we depend on him for his mercy. Only with the humble attitude before God can we admit that we need him and we need his forgiveness. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” the tax collector prayed with his head bowed in profound sorrow and contrition. As we heard from the Psalm and the Book of Sirach, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor...The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” When we have true humility, we can see ourselves as we really are in God's eyes. Do we come today before God seeking God's help and mercy? As we receive Holy Communion, let us remember that all of us are made in his image and likeness.
