Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Saturday, 29 March 2014 - Catholic Meditations

Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Saturday, 29 March 2014 - Catholic Meditations

Meditations: Luke 18:9 He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others. 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

3rd Week of Lent

O God, be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13)

The Pharisee in today’s Gospel reading was harboring two illusions: one, that he had no sin and, the other, that his religious acts alone earned him God’s favor. Here was a man who trusted in himself quite a bit—even to the point of praying “to himself” (Luke 18:11).

On the other end of the spectrum was the tax collector. This fellow had no illusions about himself. He knew that he didn’t measure up. He didn’t claim to be holy. He realized how needy he was, and so he pleaded with God, “Be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). What was lacking in the Pharisee’s prayer—humility, recognition of his need, and repentance—made up the whole of the tax collector’s plea.

From its earliest days, the Church has made the tax collector’s prayer its own. In the Penitential Rite at Mass, we pray, “Kyrie eleison! Lord, have mercy!” All across the world, Christians of various traditions invoke the name of the Lord and, with a humble and contrite heart, call upon him for mercy in the “Jesus Prayer.”

This prayer—expressed most commonly as “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”—is a perfect profession of faith, for it sums up the essentials of what we know and believe about the Lord. In these few simple words, we confess our sinfulness, cry out for God’s mercy, and open ourselves to his forgiveness. According to the Catechism, this prayer is so powerful that “by it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior’s mercy” (CCC, 2667).

Try praying the Jesus Prayer frequently as you go about your day—while you’re driving, doing household chores, taking a quiet pause in the day, jogging—whenever it comes to mind. Let the words of this prayer sink deep into your heart and remind you that the Lord is always ready to show you mercy and forgiveness. Let it teach you the same humility, trust, and openness that this tax collector knew. Then, like him, you too can go “home” to heaven “justified” (Luke 18:14).

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Hosea 6:1 “Come, and let us return to Yahweh;

    for he has torn us to pieces,

    and he will heal us;

he has injured us,

    and he will bind up our wounds.

2 After two days he will revive us.

    On the third day he will raise us up,

    and we will live before him.

3 Let us acknowledge Yahweh.

    Let us press on to know Yahweh.

As surely as the sun rises,

    Yahweh will appear.

He will come to us like the rain,

    like the spring rain that waters the earth.”

4 “Ephraim, what shall I do to you?

    Judah, what shall I do to you?

    For your love is like a morning cloud,

    and like the dew that disappears early.

5 Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets;

    I killed them with the words of my mouth.

    Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.

6 For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice;

    and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions.

    My sin is constantly before me.

4 Against you, and you only, have I sinned,

    and done that which is evil in your sight;

that you may be proved right when you speak,

    and justified when you judge.

18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion.

    Build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,

    in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings.

Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

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