The Virtue Of Godly Humility | Catholic Daily Reading + Reflection, 26th March 2022 | I Desire Mercy Not Sacrife
FIRST READING
“I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Hosea (Hosea 6:1-6)
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going forth is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgement goes forth as the light. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.
The word of the Lord
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab
R/. I desire mercy, and not sacrifice
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your merciful love;
according to your great compassion,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me completely from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. R/.
For in sacrifice you take no delight;
Burnt offering from me would not please you.
My sacrifice to God, a broken spirit:
A broken and humble heart,
O God, you will not spurn. R/.
R/. I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.
In your good pleasure, show favour to Sion;
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in right sacrifice,
Burnt offering wholly consumed. R/.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL Psalm 95:7d, 8a)
Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
Gospel
The tax collector went down to his house justified rather than the Pharisee.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 18: 9-14)
At that time: Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Gospel of the Lord
TODAY’S REFLECTION
The Pharisees in today’s Gospel did a lot of good things. But he was not sure whether God knew it. So he had to inform God! He lacked one very important virtue, humility. And God knew that, though the man himself didn’t. The tax collector was the exact opposite. He had done a lot of bad things. He knew it, and God knew it too. But he had the humility to acknowledge his shortcomings, and beg for forgiveness. God answered his prayer. No one is ever so good and righteous that he does not need God’s mercy. We should always approach him with a humble and contrite heart, like the tax collector
There is a widespread disease affecting many of us today. I call it a disease not because it is a medical condition but because it is a disease; that is, it is something that takes away our inner peace and happiness; it often leaves us restless, unable to sleep and worried.
This disease is called “comparing ourselves with others.” The symptoms of this disease include: using other people to measure one’s progress in life, trying all means to appear better than others, doing everything in one’s power to put people down, make them look small and unequal to us, talking about people in a bad light out of jealousy, complexes such as inferiority complex, superiority complex and praying against rather than praying for others.
There is a feeling of excitement we get when we hear the sins and failings of others. It makes us feel good just to know that we are ahead of people whether by intelligence, spirituality or even wealth. What we don’t understand is that each time we put someone down, talk about or laugh at their weakness, we are doing same to ourselves; we are making our listeners understand that we are smaller than those we are gossiping about since our happiness depend on their downfall.
It takes humility on our part to accept that no matter how holy we may be in our eyes, we are still sinners constantly in need of God’s mercy. The second man in the parable of Jesus came before God to pray and without raising his eyes to heaven simply said: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” As the Prophet Hosea makes us understand: “God desires mercy and not sacrifice.”
Examination of conscience does a lot of good for us; not only does it draw us closer to God, it also helps us forgive those who hurt us. Are you finding it very difficult to forgive someone? Do a thorough examination of your heart and you will discover that you have done worse things in the past than what that person has done against you; that if God treats you according to the way you want to treat your offender, you will not survive.
Stop comparing yourself with others. Step out of your competitive zone. No one has got it all. God gave each person on earth unique gifts so that we can provide for what is lacking in each other not so that we can fight ourselves. Acknowledge your sins and each day strive to be a better you than what you were the previous day.
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT DAY 24
Idleness is one of the easiest way to ‘rot’ as a human being. God is not idle and he does not expect us to be either. When you let what your life becomes be determined by others you may end up being idle for the rest of your life, but when you take control of your life in a positive sense, you will see the need to work hard and not be idle. There is a lot you can do to keep yourself busy and when you are busy doing something worthwhile with your time, you will not have the chance to think of frivolities.
Today, try and engage yourself in something good and positive and never patronise idleness. By working hard today, you will leave a lasting legacy to our world when you depart.
Let us pray;
Lord Jesus, teach me to be content with all I have, help me examine my heart diligently and root out my own demons rather than become possessed with those of others. Amen