GOD BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER!
Honesty and humility seem to go hand in hand, and our readings this week show how essential these attitudes are to our prayer. In our First Reading we learn that God listens with special care to the humble. St Paul in his letter to Timothy in the Second Reading, faces the court alone. But he knows the Lord is at his side, and it is the Lord who gives him power to proclaim the message. Paul is full of thanksgiving for God’s continuous care. Our Gospel is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee is full of self-righteousness, but the humble tax collector, who acknowledges his sinfulness, goes home ‘at rights with God’.
This week, may we be confident – as we come to prayer in all our sinfulness – knowing that the Lord, in his mercy, will always hear us.
Source: Scripture reflection and image prepared for St Beuono's Outreach, Diocese of Wrexham UK available at www.australiancatholics.com.au/