Today is March 29, Saturday of the Third Week of Lent.
At today’s Mass, we hear: “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'” (Lk 18:13).
Humility is not useless or unrealistic self-abasement before God and man. This is false humility, rather than real and true virtuous humility. Real humility is the acknowledgment of how we stand before God in truth. When we take stock of how we stand before God, we begin to understand ourselves in humility.
The first step in the spiritual life is humility. Unless we see ourselves in light of the existence of God and who he is, we will not be able to understand how we relate to him. No relationship goes well when neither party understands how they stand in relation to the other. When we understand how we stand in relationship with God, we find true humility: I am nothing without God.
In the presence of God, I see my sin. In the presence of God, I discover my wounds. In the presence of God, I feel my weakness. Coming truthfully into the presence of God, I realize that I need him to save, heal, and support me. Without him, I am nothing.
Needing God
Lent is a time for us to come into the presence of God and remember how much we need him. Understanding our relationship with God is the source of true humility. This is the difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector in the Gospel: the Pharisee measured his standing by looking at those around him while the tax collector understood himself only by looking to God.
With the tax collector, we look to God. His simple prayer is worth praying over and over again this Lent: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” For, in truth, we are nothing without God.
Let us pray,
Rejoicing in this annual celebration of our Lenten observance, we pray, O Lord, that, with our hearts set on the paschal mysteries, we may be gladdened by their full effects. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
