First Reading
Hosea 6:1-6
“Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab
R. (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Gospel
Luke 18:9-14
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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: "FEELING GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES"
"For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled while he who humbles himself shall be exalted." –Luke 18:14
Jesus addressed the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector "to those who believed in their own self-righteousness while holding everyone else in contempt" (Lk 18:9). Very few people claim that this parable is addressed to them. Who admits to self-righteousness? Who thinks they hold "everyone else in contempt?" We act as though this parable applies to no one, when in fact it applies to everyone.
We all have a Pharisee lurking deep within us. We think we're not so bad compared to others. We thank God we're "not like the rest of men" (Lk 18:11), and we think God owes us a favor after all we've done for Him. Our arrogance is sinful and ridiculous, but we're so blinded by sin that we've lost perspective on our lives.
In our pride, prayer becomes a mere exercise in self-realization. When we pray, we talk to ourselves and think of our thinking, rather than of God. If we fast, we're actually dieting and expressing our will-power and/or vanity. If we tithe or give alms, it's not just our left hands that know what our right hands are doing (see Mt 6:3). We give not out of love for Jesus in the poor but to "feel good about ourselves" and to put salve on our consciences.
"God 'is stern with the arrogant but to the humble He shows kindness' " (1 Pt 5:5). Let us humble ourselves before the Lord.
PRAYER: Father, this Lent teach me humility any way You wish.
PROMISE: "For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts." –Hos 6:6
PRAISE: Jesus healed Sandra of shingles.
...may the good Lord bless His holy word in our hearts...
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