Humility in prayer

Here is the text of the homily I prepared and shared with those who came to pray with us this Sunday.  Based on Jesus teaching about the attitude we should have when we pray, I hope that these thoughts will help us to open our hearts and to encounter the merciful heart of God.

Our hearts in solidarity

Each week, the disciples of Jesus gather to listen to his words and to celebrate the Eucharist.  Listening to Jesus’ words is much more than a simple matter of hearing the telling and retelling of stories.  Rather, week after week, we too gather with Jesus and his disciples; together with them, we too are challenged to apply the wisdom of these encounters to our own lives.

When he was physically present on earth, Jesus often used stories to illustrate his point: stories like the one we heard today.  In this case, he identified one of the traps that we can so easily fall into: the temptation to trust in ourselves, to become puffed up with pride and to look at others with contempt as though they were somehow inferior to us (cf Lk 18:9).  In this case, Jesus placed himself in the minds of the two men who enter the temple.  Can you even imagine what it would be like to hear all the prayers that are offered in holy places around the world today? Yet there is a point to Jesus’ story. 

Some people – those whose hearts have been hardened by hurtful experiences, or those who have been let down on previous occasions when they have dared to open their hearts to someone else – sometimes develop thick exteriors.  In this case, the Pharisee’s heart was so closed in upon itself that he was entirely focused on himself and how well he thought he was doing at living life: God, I thank you that I am not like other people … I fast … and I give a tenth of all my income (Lk 18:11-12).  The truth is that every one of us is this person from time to time, and at such moments, we are most in need of God’s mercy.

On the other hand, there are some people – those who are aware of their own weaknesses and needs, those who are aware of their own unworthiness but who nonetheless dare to hope that God will listen to their supplications – who almost whisper their prayers: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (Lk 18:13).  Jesus tells his listeners that awareness of our own weakness changes the way that we address our prayers, and the prayer of the humble is heard, for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Lk 18:14).

People who are sincere will always find that prayer will lead them to a deeper level of awareness of their dependence on God.  Heartfelt prayer will also lead us to a deeper awareness of the needs of others, and to a sense of common responsibility for alleviating the suffering of others.  We do this by strengthening the bonds of community and by doing what we can to work toward justice for all people.  A heart that has been humbled in prayer will always be open to recognizing the needs of the poor because it is aware of its own poverty.  Someone who approaches prayer with a humble heart will soon recognize his or her own vulnerability, and therefore will be more aware of the needs of those who have been marginalized.

Having recognized the needs of our brothers and sisters, we are called in all humility to pray for their needs and to trust that the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds (Sir 35:17) and reaches the ears of our heavenly Father who will always hear our prayers and respond to them by giving us everything we truly need.