CYCLE C 30TH ORDINARY 2013
Sirach 35:12-14; 16-18, 2 Tim4: 6-8; 16-18, Luke 18: 9-14
1. Think of all the things you prayed for in the last months. I have prayed for my mom, my sister, my family, my relatives, my work, my ministry, our Church, our nation, our fellow parishioners, the sick, the dying, good weather, the disaster relief…the list is endless. Q: Have my prayers been answered? Tell you the truth, for what I wanted, it’s been a MIXED BAG. Yet if you want someone to pray for you…please call on me. What I think really happened was prayer moved me to a Greater awareness of the WILL and PRESENCE of God in all things and I want that for you.
2. In the last few weeks the church has presented us various aspects of Prayer that are important to incorporate into our lives, not just to get what we want, but to let prayer do what it does best…CHANGE US. 2 weeks ago we had the 10 LEPERS praying…NO BEGGING Jesus for Mercy. Prayer is about SUPPLICATION, but that Gospel stressed that prayer must give way to GRATITUDE for all God’s goodness. Last week we had the WIDOW and the Judge. The point was that we must be PERSISTENT in our Prayer. While our concerns for the material and physical are important, we must realize God’s concern is more toward Spiritual growth. Persistent prayer opens us to under- standing His will, especially when it goes against what we wanted. Persistent prayer keeps us from discouragement on the path of holiness. This week to compliment prayer of Supplication, Thanksgiving and Persistence; we have what makes it perfect. And that’s the stance of our heart, which must be Humble and Contrite. Prayer that comes from a HUMBLE-CONTRITE heart, where we own up to our imperfections and compare ourselves only to God’s Holiness, will surely get a hearing.
3. Our readings help us understand those two values of prayer. Sirach, a wise and pious Jewish man, tells us that God’s Justice deals equally with all men and He gives to each according to his merits. He tells us, God has no favorites and answers the prayers of all. Yet He does have special concerns for those who are humbled by life’s circumstances; those OPPRESSED, ORPHANED, or WIDOWED. And then Sirach tells us that those loyal, willing servants or those who are sinful and cry out with sincere prayer, have His ear and He will not allow to suffer beyond their strength. Humility and contrition keep us from trying to deceive God with false pleas.
4. In our Gospel parable, our Lord, gives reproach to anyone who prays about their exalted opinion of their own Holiness. Today the Pharisee described by our Lord is standing PROUDLY in the Temple. Boasting of his good works and strict observance of the law. He is addressing God, but NOT in SUPPLICATION. In fact, he is TELLING God how thankful He should be, that there are men like him on earth! We also hear how he despises others who did not do as he did. The basic vice of the Pharisee was PRIDE, which ruined all of his otherwise good works. In the case of this tax collector, a lot of hurt comes from this job. It was a profession hated by most Jews. They collected taxes imposed by the pagan Roman Government. So long as he gave the Romans the sum imposed on his district, he could collect as much as he was able. This led to many tax collectors acting very unjustly. And becoming very rich. Yet Jesus saw a ‘Stance of his Heart’ that is pleasing to God’s sense of mercy. That ‘Contrite’ tax collector wanted nobody to see him. His posture tells us that he felt unworthy to even look towards heaven; a place he felt that he could never reach. Humbly He beat his breast as a sign of SORROW and REGRET. (Is that how you felt as we said the Confiteor today.) In prayer, He Begs “God be mercy full to me’ as he proclaims that he is ‘a sinner.” His only hope of salvation, is the infinite mercy of God. We had an example of that in the parable of the 10 lepers.
5. We all have a lot to pray for. And to affect change, we now know what should constitute our prayer. So how is your prayer life? At Mass every week, we have a great opportunity and starting point. But we know the church will never let 1 hour of prayer be its’ weekly summation. So we need to make a BONAFIDE effort to grow in our practice of PRAYER. So whether at Home, at work, at school or where ever, it all starts with ‘taking the time to pray’. Our list of excuses of how we can’t find time to pray is probably as long as the things we need to pray for. How often do you use any of the Traditional Prayers of the church. (Our Father, Hail Mary or Rosary etc.) Have you tried Scripture Reading, Mediation, Adoration or use of a prayer Book. Here’s a thought. Do you own a computer hooked up to the internet? You may find it easy to pray on the computer, especially the Breviary. The Liturgy of the Hours, is the official daily prayer of the Church. Ask Beth how her prayer time is growing as she prays the iBreviary on her Kindle Fire. We know daily food, work and rest are important. So remember this, WHAT eating, sleeping and working is to the body, praying is to the soul. In praying your doing all three: Consuming on God’s word, Resting in God’s word and Working for God’s Kingdom. If your looking for change for yourself or for anything else, every day ‘ask your self…have I prayed today’.
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