Weekly Catholic Bible Study

Weeks 751-760
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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 751: Pray with humility (Sirach 25 : 12-14, 16-18 ; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18  & Luke 18: 9-14)

 

[Sirach]

The LORD is a God of justice, who knows no favorites. Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.  The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint. The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay.
 

[Timothy]

Beloved: I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

[Luke]

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

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Fellow pilgrims, we read about the prayer of the poor, oppressed and vulnerable, in the 1st reading (Sir 35:12-14, 16-18), where Ben Sirach wisely stated “…For he is a God of justice, who shows no partiality. He shows no partiality to the weak but hears the grievance of the oppressed. He does not forsake the cry of the orphan, nor the widow when she pours out her complaint…The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal. Nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right. God indeed will not delay…” (Sirach 35:15-17,21,22).

 

The gospel also talks about humility in prayer (Lk 18:9-14), and the Psalm says: “This poor one cried out, and the Lord heard…” (Ps 34:7). In other words, God does not answer the prayer of the proud, or prideful prayer as the Pharisees prayed in the gospel. Thus, today we are invited to reflect on pride, and prideful traits and behaviors which hurts our prayer. We know that pride is actually a mask that covers our weakness and fear of vulnerability. This mask is like a tool one employs to protect oneself from any pain that would come from rejection, or from being hurt or humiliated. This is not good for any relationship especially our relationship with God.

 

We must try to remove the mask of pride and self-righteousness, accept our vulnerability and weakness, and humbly pray to God who hears the prayer of the weak and wipes the tears of the oppressed, which was the grace and healing that eluded the proud Pharisee (Lk 18:14). We are also reminded that although we face challenges of faith fighting the good fight of faith, as pilgrim journeying to heaven, we are made holy and righteous by God’s grace and not just by our own power, as St Paul noted (2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18); a tendency seen with prideful people (Lk 18:11,12).

 

Now, this ties into the solemnity of All Saints we celebrate this Saturday (Nov.1), when the Church celebrates with those who have entered God’s presence contemplating him in glory (Church triumphant). Although it is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year, we thank God for the numerous wonderful and blessed men and women who have be washed in the Blood of Christ and are now united with him in heavenly bliss (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14), as we read: “After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” (Rev 7:9). And these include people of all professions and vocations, the rich and the poor, the healthy, the sickly, the religious, the reformed sinners, Queens, Kings, the worldly intelligent and the worldly dumb, officials, the kitchen servants, etc., but each still lived humbly.

 

So, heaven is for the humble, and it has room for each of us, who lived as God’s humble sons and daughters, who St John noted must make ourselves pure to truly see God as he is and become like him: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God… Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be, has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure” (1Jn 3:1-3). God wants us to strive humbly to reach out for the glory he has prepared for us. This is what makes

saints, as Jesus reiterated at his sermon on the mount (Matt 5:1-12). To practice the beatitudes is challenging, but those who persevere, have washed their cloth in the Blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:13-14). Peace!

 

By Fr. Francis Chukwuma

 

Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I thank You for showing me the true meaning of humility. Please remove any arrogance or pride within me, and replace it with a heart of gentleness and humility. Guide my actions so they may reflect the grace You have bestowed upon me. Let my life be an example of humility to others, always seeking to serve rather than be served. Help me, Lord, to put others before myself and seek Your approval above all else. Amen."

 

Quote from a Saint: "There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart.” --Saint Augustine

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Questions for reflection:

1. Have you ever found pride getting in the way of your prayer? What did that look like?

2. Have you ever considered that your prayer could be hampered by pride?

3. What are some ways that you can “remove the mask of pride and self-righteousness”?

4. Do you think of yourself as being a humble person? Would those closest to you say that you are humble?

5. Do you find it easy to pray the Litany of Humility? If you have not prayed it before, look it up and give it a try.

6. What is it about humility that is so important?

7. “…we are made holy and righteous by God’s grace and not just by our own power.” If we realize this, how does it change our prayer life? Our relationship with God?

8. “And these include people of all professions and vocations, the rich and the poor...” Does this description of who is in Heaven comfort you?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP