Luke 18, 9-14:
“The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself: I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous and not like this tax collector… The tax collector, on the other hand, only beat his breast, saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner”.
We all have within us a dose of Pharisee and another dose of the tax collector.
What I have within me of the Pharisee leads me to believe myself to be superior to others, leads me to pride, contempt of others, to think that I can save myself with my own efforts and through the merit of my own works.
Our feelings of a tax collector lead me to humility, to recognize myself as a sinner and not to rely on my own strength.
The Pharisaic attitude will always be wrong and the attitude of the tax collector will not always be good.
It is well to recognize what we are, but at the same time recognizing that we are children of God and that we are very much appreciated and very dear to him.
Our weakness itself has to set us on the way to joy and optimism.
I am a child of God and my Father loves me and he also loves my weakness with infinite mercy.
And he also forgives my sin with infinite mercy.
Good day.
Antonio Sanjuan Marin, cmf
