SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (Luke 18:9-14) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” (Lk 18:13)

FIRST READING - Hosea 6:1-6

A reading from the Book of Hosea

“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.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 18:9-14

From the Gospel according to Luke

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.”

SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (Luke 18:9-14)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In today’s Word of God, Jesus told a parable about a tax collector and a Pharisee who came to the Temple to pray. Through this, He wanted to teach all those who have thoughts or actions that are proud of themselves as righteous before God, and also teach those who often look down on, judge others, or compare them with their own good deeds.

God is the One above; He sees clearly every thought and soul of each person. When a person has not yet spoken, God already knows whether that person is righteous or sinful. Before God, all people are sinners, because humans have mortal bodies, so they are still covered with the stains of sin; no one has a pure, innocent, holy heart except for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was given the privilege by God to be the Immaculate Conception.

Today, God invites those who are proud of their good deeds before Him to examine themselves, to look into their souls and see if they have lived to please God. Be humble and acknowledge your weaknesses and sins before God's love, righteousness, justice, and fairness. Do not be arrogant, thinking that you have lived according to all of God's laws and look down on your brothers and sisters. Indeed, when living in this world, no one has lived completely according to all of God's laws, except Jesus. Therefore, to be loved by God and forgiven for their mistakes, people must be humble, humble themselves before God, admit that they are sinners before Him, and ask for His mercy, like the image of the tax collector in the Temple.

God wanted to use two contrasting images—the tax collector and the Pharisee—for people to compare themselves, to look at themselves and recognize which group they belong to, to know what they should do and what they should not do before God and others.

God is always merciful and wants good things for people, but people need to cooperate with Him. That is, to follow what He teaches, like the tax collector who pleased God when he knew how to be humble, to abase himself, and recognize his mistakes before God's great love: "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner." God teaches, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” He also warns: do not be like Satan, who arrogantly wants to be equal to God. People were created by God in His image. He sees the weaknesses and sins of people when they commit sins before God. But because of His mercy, He is willing to forgive all mistakes. He only needs people to sincerely repent, be repentant of their sins, return to God, and ask for His mercy to forgive all mistakes. That is also what God wants His children to do to have eternal life. God gives the Holy Lent as an opportunity for people to repent, recognize their sins, and ask for God's mercy to forgive all mistakes and give them strength so that people are determined to abandon their sinful selves and return to the merciful Father, who is waiting to welcome them into His loving arms.

Thanks be to God. Amen.