The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to the nudges of the Spirit that reveal the attitudes and actions that inhibit our transformation to fullness of life.
The reading from the Prophet Hosea is a call to Repentance after the Impenitence of Israel and Judah.
* [6:2] After two days; on the third day: presumptuous Israel expects that soon God will renew them (cf. Ez 37).
* [6:5] The word of God proclaimed by the prophets is effective, it accomplished what it promised: punishment. (Hosea, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 51 is a prayer for Cleansing and Pardon.
* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke presents the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector.
* [18:1–14] The particularly Lucan material in the travel narrative concludes with two parables on prayer. The first (Lk 18:1–8) teaches the disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall victims to apostasy (Lk 18:8). The second (Lk 18:9–14) condemns the self-righteous, critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the fundamental attitude of the Christian disciple must be the recognition of sinfulness and complete dependence on God’s graciousness. The second parable recalls the story of the pardoning of the sinful woman (Lk 7:36–50) where a similar contrast is presented between the critical attitude of the Pharisee Simon and the love shown by the pardoned sinner. (Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB, n.d.)
Steve Scholer comments that being humble is a freeing experience. You don’t feel the need to compare yourselves with others, be it the car they drive or the house they live in, because you know yourself and don’t need someone else’s opinion to validate your own self-worth. The only opinion that matters is God’s.
Humility makes it easy for us to interact with others, as the humble person rarely takes offense at slights, real or imagined, and is quick to acknowledge their own errors. Humility also leads to greater compassion, as a deeper awareness of our own faults and weaknesses makes it easier to be understanding of those who, like us, have stumbled along the way.
As we continue our Lenten journey during our daily Examen of Consciousness, we should pause and assess our own humility. In our daily prayers to God are we sometimes like the Pharisee reminding him about all the good things we have done? Or, do we embrace humility as a sign of our growing spiritual development and willingness to accept a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God? (Scholer, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “God's mercy is our only hope,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Driven out of paradise by You and exiled in a distant land, I cannot return by myself unless You, O Lord, come to meet me in my wandering. My return is based on hope in your mercy during all of my earthly life. My only hope, the only source of confidence, and the only solid promise is your mercy." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 24,5) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 18:9-14 comments that if we feel a sense of relief that we’re not self-righteous or arrogant or judgmental like this fellow, we might, ironically, be suffering from our own blind spot. Just as he was blind to his need for God, we can be just as blind to our own neediness or faults. We might focus on the way we take the time to go to Mass and pray but still miss subtle (or not so subtle) prejudices that we harbor. We might take comfort in knowing that we keep most of the commandments but quietly gloss over our own “slip ups” when they happen—and still judge someone else’s “slip ups” harshly.
Jesus said that the Pharisee did not go home justified (Luke 18:14). And neither will we if we judge people (Matthew 7:1). That could include the modern-day “Pharisees” whose devotion and faith rub us the wrong way. It could also include the modern-day “tax collectors” whose views or values don’t match up with ours in one area or another. We can’t allow our blind spots to reduce anyone to just one or two aspects of their lives.
Let’s ask Jesus to change our hearts. Let’s ask him to give us humble, repentant hearts—like the tax collector.
“O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”(Meditation on Luke 18:9-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the teaching of Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah, about the period of suffering that precedes restoration by God from the guilt of our sins. The three day interval may be a prediction of Jesus' death and resurrection. Friar Jude is reminded by the text from Luke that our lack of humility may take us to the trap of self reliance as we ponder why the religious may be less likely to ask for forgiveness.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, invites us to a brief practice of contemplative prayer with Mirabai Starr, author, spiritual teacher, and friend of the CAC.
We implore the Spirit to awaken us to the presumptuous attitudes we may harbour about our righteousness and to lead us to live humbly and we seek the Way to serve God and the people we encounter on our journey.
References
Hosea, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/6?1
Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/18?9
Meditation on Luke 18:9-14. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/03/29/1236696/
Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?3
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Centering, Silence, and Stillness: Weekly Summary. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/centering-silence-and-stillness-weekly-summary/
Scholer, S. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Archive/033019.html
Schwager, D. (n.d.). God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner! Daily Scripture net. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=mar29
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