Manere in Christo: Sticking with Jesus

Humility is hard.  Jesus Christ frequently calls us to be humble, and it is hard.  In Sunday’s readings , Jesus is once again calling us all to be humble, especially in prayer before God.  Very often, we can find ourselves extolling our greatness before God and lamenting others’ faults.  The scriptures very clearly tell us that this is not the way to eternal life. In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us with the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee.  Both are praying in the temple, but each is praying in a radically different manner.  In this parable, the Pharisee is praying in the temple with eyes raised to heaven.  In reality, he is not so much praying as informing God of his own wonderful qualities and accomplishments while putting down someone he thinks unworthy, the tax collector.  In juxtaposition, the tax collector is truly praying by acknowledging his sinfulness and asking God for mercy....

                While reading the Gospel for this Sunday , I could not help but think of a friend of mine.   Sh e made the dumb (brave) decision to pray for humility.   This is one prayer that the Lord always answers, and He answers it in ways we could not have imagined.                 For my friend, the Lord answered it by showing her what some of her friends and acquaintances say about her when she is not around.   Unfortunately, it was not things that build you up, rather it was pretty bleak.   Hearing that people you considered friends were talking poorly about you behind your back would deliver a big blow to anyone’s self-esteem.   My friend was no exception.                 Sunday’s Gospel shows us how to react to these situ...