THE HUMBLE MAN'S PRAYER.
October 23, 2022.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – C.
“The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not
rest till it reaches its goal…” (Sir 35:21)
A Chinese proverb says: “The poor ones give their alms in a
humble way, the rich man throws them down with contempt.” And a German proverb
adds: “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.”
“This poor man called; the Lord has heard him.” That is all
that it is about in prayer. We come in front of the Lord in all humility and
with the docility of children. We present him our petitions and await his
divine response. Prayer is before all an exercise of humility. The Lord hears
the prayer of the poor and the humble because their prayers begin in a place
much nearer to God’s heart. The Holy Father, in his General Audience on October
5, 2022, said nicely about prayer: "Prayer, not like parrots. No: prayer
as familiarity and confidence with God; prayer of the sons of the Father;
prayer with an open heart.” And we could come back with these words of St.
Therese of the Child Jesus. The question was, what is prayer? And she answered:
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward
heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
CCC 2558
This childish definition gives the real meaning of prayer,
something that springs from the heart; something filled with simplicity; and
above all an act of love and dependence. As we can notice, today's readings are
all about prayer and most especially the prayer that meets God's approval.
The first reading and the Gospel emphasize the dimension of
humility in prayer. The Wise Man says, “The humble man’s prayer pierces the
clouds...” God is hostile to arrogance and self-glorification in prayer. We do
not come to him from the heights of our merits and achievements. Prayer is not
an inventory of our merits. It is a heart-to-heart communication built on
mutual trust and humility. The Lord knows who we are and what we are capable
of. We come to him in prayer either to give him thanks or beg his mercy for our
unfaithfulness and failures. The Ecclesiasticus adds: “The Lord is a judge who
is no respecter of personages. He shows no respect of personages to the
detriment of a poor man, he listens to the plea of the injured party.”
The Gospel comes to prove perfectly that fact. The Lord
Jesus, through the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in the Temple, not
only tells us what prayer is not and also that God is truly a judge who is no
respecter of personages. He does not count man's boastfulness but rather
humility.
Many are they, for whom prayer is a litany of
accomplishments and achievements. Like the Pharisee, they want to impression,
to prove how righteous they are. For certain, the Pharisee did all that he
mentioned and he is right to say that he is not like others and even not like
the Publican. In Jewish society, the Pharisees are respected for their
righteousness and their sense of cleanliness or purity. They are good law
abiders, cautious of their image, and want in all ways to win people's respect.
Nevertheless, before God, though this is important to keep righteousness, it is
more valuable to be humble. Thus, the conclusion that the prayer of the
Publican, known by all to be a public sinner was heard and not that of the Pharisee.
For, the Publican came to God aware of his nothingness, filled with contrition
and after a deep examination of conscience. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
While the Pharisee, in reality, did not even pray. He asked nothing from God.
He just came to tell him about himself being different from others.
Through this parable, we are warned about our relationship
with God and our prayers. Luke presented the reason why Jesus gave this
parable: “Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided
themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else.” If you pray priding
yourself and despising others God will humble you. For, he casts the mighty
from their thrones and lifts up the lowly.
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