Right Attitude to Prayer

10-23-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp, V.F.

Last Sunday’s liturgy presented us with the importance of prayer and the need to persevere in prayer. In today’s gospel reading we are presented with the right attitude to prayer and the nature our prayer should take. This is seen in the parable Jesus gave of two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector who went up to the temple to pray.

The Pharisee prayed from his heart proudly listing out all the good he has been doing. His prayer was directed to himself and not God. The Pharisee did not really go to pray; he went to inform God about how good and righteous he was. He was rather singing his own praises, (2 Cor 10:18) He was almost demanding God to admire and approve of him. At the end his prayer was rejected.

On the other hand, the publican considers himself not even worthy to appear before God. He prays with humility and with a contrite heart. He sought God with great humility of heart and not pride. Thus, he stays at the back and would not even lift his eyes but says “God be merciful to me a sinner.” We were told that the publican goes home accepted by God because he humbles himself and recognizes his unworthiness before God. He won God’s approval because he recognizes that humility is the key step to a good relationship with God and this is what the Pharisee fails to see. God is the source of our justification and every good thing in our lives is God’s doing. (Phil 2:13)

Jesus warns each of us against self-righteousness, considering ourselves to be better than others. Jesus talks to us about self-conceit, and every form of pride. This is because the proud place themselves at a distance from others and look at other people with disdain and disrespect. (Prov 11:12) A proud person sees himself perfect and as such cannot bend down to pray. The sin of the Pharisee was that he was full of pride at his own self-righteousness rather than being grateful to God. A biblical scholar once said that the gate of Heaven is so low that none can enter it, except on bended knees. Therefore, the sin of pride is a deadly sin because it blindfolds the person. (Prov 26:12) This is why many good Catholics who have given up going to Mass have lost this awareness that our holiness and justification begins with a humble recognition of our need for God’s mercy. Because in every Mass, we begin by acknowledging we are not perfect and we approach Him with hearts full of mercy. The second point is that no one who despises others can expect his prayer to reach God because despising one’s neighbor closes the door to God’s heart. In prayer we do not lift ourselves above others. We are all in one boat of sinning, suffering, and sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of God’s mercy. Therefore, for our prayer to reach God we must never look down on anyone expecting God to accept our own prayers. Gal, 6:3, Romans 12:16, Phil 2:3

Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.