30th Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 26
This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, which Our Lord addressed to “those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else” (Lk 18:9), that is, to a group of proud people. In it, Jesus portrays two men who go up to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray: a Pharisee and a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing, gives thanks to God for not being a sinner like other men; he boasts of his virtues, does not ask the Lord for help or forgiveness for his faults. The other keeps his distance, recognizing his unworthiness, lowers his head, admits he is a sinner and begs the Most High to be merciful to him. The Divine Master declares that the tax collector left the Temple justified, but the Pharisee did not, because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6).
But what does pride consist of?
Properly speaking, it is a disordered appetite for one’s own excellence, a sin that manifests itself in various ways, such as seeking to stand out at any cost; considering oneself better than others; belittling others; boasting of spiritual or material goods as if they came from oneself; presuming to save oneself by one’s own strength, without counting on God’s help.
It is a very serious sin, which opens the door to all others. The evil angels committed it, our first parents committed it, and… so have we.
The virtue opposite to pride is humility, by which we acknowlege what we really are before God. As St. Teresa teaches, “humility is walking in the truth; for it is a very great truth: that of ourselves we have no good, but misery and nothingness.”1
And what about us? Are we humble or proud? Is it not true that, on many occasions, pride is the driving force behind our actions? Let us therefore examine our conscience in this regard.
Here are some questions we could ask ourselves: Do I recognize that only with God’s help will I make it to Heaven and, consequently, do I make an effort to have a serious prayer life? Do I consider myself better than others, do I ridicule them, insult them or slander them? Do I want others to praise me for my imaginary virtues, my human qualities or my physical appearance, and to honour me with the best positions? Do I get angry when things do not go as I wish?
The Virgin Mary is an example of humility for all of us. Before St. Gabriel, She recognizes herself as the handmaid of the Lord (cf. Lk 1:38), and in the Magnificat She proclaims that God “has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden” (Lk 1:48). This humility, however, is not manifested only in words. Shortly after the Archangel’s visit, Our Lady hastens to the house of St. Elizabeth in order to serve her; She silently endures the hardships of the journey to Egypt as a result of Herod’s persecution; She obeys St. Joseph in everything, even though She is the Queen of Heaven and earth.
Let us ask her, the universal Mediatrix of all graces, to grant us the priceless gift of having a heart as humble as hers. ◊
Notes
1 ST. TERESA OF JESUS. Interior Castle. The Sixth Mansions, c.10, n.8.
