Reflection for
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
(Hosea 6:1-6; Lk
18:9-14)
Jesus tells us the story of the Pharisee and the Tax
Collector who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee boasted about his ‘righteous’
deeds, while the Tax Collector stood afar off and pleaded for mercy.
The self-righteous man stood before God’s presence and was
comparing himself with others. There was no place for God in his prayer; he
made God a mere spectator of the competition between him and others. But the
Tax Collector ‘compared’ himself with God. He recognized God’s holiness in
relation to his sinfulness. God Himself was the centre and focus of his prayer.
“God, be merciful to me a sinner!” He went home justified.
Whenever we come closer to God, His holiness reveals our sinfulness—there
is always something to repent of. So we approach Him with utmost humility.
There is neither comparison nor competition when we come to God in prayer. He
relates to each of us in our individual uniqueness. His package of blessings is
unparalleled with no other.
Encounter with God summons us to humility, in which true
relationship with God is established.
Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Ss Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi, Lagos.
Saturday, 30 March 2019.
