Sunday, October 23, 2022 – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18, Psalm 34 “The Lord hears the cry of the poor ”, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18:9-14

    My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, St Faustina Kowalska tells us something about prayer: “A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. In whatever state the soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty: a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.”
    In the gospel, a Pharisee and a tax collector went to the temple to pray. Their attitude reflected what society thinks about them: the Pharisee took the normal posture for prayer. His prayers were in thanksgiving to God for his blessings. For Jesus’ audience, he will be a model of a righteous person. The tax-collector on the other hand stood off a distance, and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beating his breast prayed “O God, be merciful to me a sinner”. With that prayer, he acknowledges what everyone else knew about him: a sinner. But Jesus says that the tax-collector went home justified, this is a surprise. The tax collector had not quit his job or made reparation, and there is no evidence of real change of profession.
    My dear friends, Jesus does not praise the tax-collector nor does he approve of his sins. He only says that he had the right attitude in the eyes of God. He shows the Lord the only things he has, his sins, his misery, his interior poverty. He knows that he does not deserve a thing and that his salvation can only come gratuitously. To attain salvation, he would have to quit his job, make full restitution plus the percentage. So he put all his trust in God in whom nothing is hopeless “O God have mercy on me a sinner”. The Pharisee on the other hand, was a righteous man but his mistake was that he thought he would merit justification due to the good deeds he carried with him. Jesus ended the parable that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” St Alphonsus Ligouri advises us: “God wants us to go to him with confidence. Bring to him your work, our projects, your fears and whatever interests you. Act with a trusting and open heart”.
    This weekend we celebrate World Mission Sunday. As a Divine Word Missionary, this is the very heart of our identity. We are sent to this world to proclaim the Divine World. I wish you a happy Mission Sunday. And may the Lord grant us the spirit of prayer and the right attitude in prayer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Fr. Paschal Chester, SVD