Sunday 27 October

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-19; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

The prayer of the humble

Jesus’ victory over our sin and death, won for us by his death on the Cross, is revealed only to the humble in faith and heart. Worldly wisdom judges the Cross as a defeat. In the Gospel, however, the tax collector’s humble cry for mercy pierces the clouds. Jesus assures us: “This man, I tell you, went home at rights with God. The other did not”. Christian penitential prayer is always humble, always fruitful. Self-righteous, self-justifying, judgemental prattle is not Christian prayer.

Lord, grant me the grace of a humble, penitential heart.