The Third Saturday of Lent

Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity greedy, dishonest, adulterous or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Jesus warns his followers against becoming convinced of their righteousness and despising others. This is not to say that his followers shouldn’t be righteous, because we all should seek to do what is right, but rather they shouldn’t consider themselves holier-than-thou. Our piety is under constant attack by the Devil and one of his weapons is pride, which worms its way into our hearts by convincing us that we are better than others and encouraging us to despise them. However, the truly righteousness will never be convinced of their superiority, nor will they look down on others. Instead, they will do what God asks them to do and cultivate the virtues of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Most importantly, they will recognize themselves as sinners, seek God’s Mercy, and be compassionate toward their fellow sinners. When we live in such a way, we give glory to God and will be exalted before Him for being good and faithful servants.

Do we believe ourselves to be better than others or recognize we too are in constant need of God’s Mercy? What are we doing to ensure our piety is not corrupted by false pride? Are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving the pillars of our lives?

O Lord, be merciful to us sinners.

Amen.