The Word Among Us - A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Saturday, March 14, 2015

The Word Among Us - A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Saturday, March 14, 2015

Meditation: Luke 18:9 Also, to some who were relying on their own righteousness and looking down on everyone else, he told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Parush and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Parush stood and prayed to himself, ‘O God! I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, immoral, or like this tax-collector! 12 I fast twice a week, I pay tithes on my entire income, . . . ’ 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God! Have mercy on me, sinner that I am!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home right with God rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.”
3rd Week of Lent
I am not like the rest of humanity. (Luke 18:11)
If you think about it, there are really two kinds of people who would pray this way. The first, like the Pharisee, says, “Look at me, Lord! I really do a lot for you, don’t I?” The second kind says, “I just don’t fit into this world. I can’t do anything at all.”
Most of us could fit in one of these categories at one time or another. But what’s the cure for such wrongheaded thinking?
If you find yourself struggling with pride, as in the first example, don’t try to deflate yourself! Rather, let the Holy Spirit guide you. In the stillness of your heart, he will show you where you are being judgmental or prideful. He will remind you of God’s greatness and majesty and gently put you back in your place. But first you need to be willing to listen to him: “Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: ‘God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble’ ”(1 Peter 5:5).
If you are more apt to put yourself down, like the second person, you too need a reality check. Just as he convicts us of sin, the Holy Spirit can reveal a punishing false humility based on painful memories or a poor self-image. He will convince you that your worth comes from God’s unchanging love, not from what people say about you. This knowledge can free you to use the unique gifts and talents he has given you. Surely you can do everything God calls you to do because your strength comes from Christ! (Philippians 4:13).
Our goal as Christians should be to live in a peaceful balance between overreaching pride and crippling self-condemnation. We should be able to recognize our need for God’s mercy, as the tax collector did. But at the same time, we should also be able to rejoice in the freedom God has given to us as his children. As we grow closer to Christ, his presence within us becomes stronger. As we die to ourselves, we come alive in him. We see that it is Christ in us, not ourselves, who is our “hope for glory” (Colossians 1:27)!
“Lord, thank you for making me as white as snow in your sight! Help me to decrease, and you to increase, so that I can bring glory to your name!” Amen!
Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to Adonai;

for he has torn, and he will heal us;

he has struck, and he will bind our wounds.

2 After two days, he will revive us;

on the third day, he will raise us up;

and we will live in his presence.

3 Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai.

That he will come is as certain as morning;

he will come to us like the rain,

like the spring rains that water the earth.

4 “Efrayim, what should I do to you?

Y’hudah, what should I do to you?

For your ‘faithful love’ is like a morning cloud,

like dew that disappears quickly.

5 This is why I have cut them to pieces by the prophets,

slaughtered them with the words from my mouth —

the judgment on you shines out like light.

6 For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices,

knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Psalm 51:3 (1) God, in your grace, have mercy on me;

in your great compassion, blot out my crimes.

4 (2) Wash me completely from my guilt,

and cleanse me from my sin.

18 (16) For you don’t want sacrifices, or I would give them;

you don’t take pleasure in burnt offerings.

19 (17) My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit;

God, you won’t spurn a broken, chastened heart.

20 (18) In your good pleasure, make Tziyon prosper;

rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim.

21 (19) Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then they will offer bulls on your altar.

____________________________