Here and Now with Francis 6/2/16 (Mary, Christ, prayer, humility, reality, sin, heart, dependence)
If God favors humility, it is not to humiliate us: rather humility is the necessary condition to be raised by Him, so as to experience the mercy that comes to fill our emptiness. If the prayer of the arrogant does not reach God’s heart, the humility of the miserable one opens it wide. God has a weakness: a weakness for the humble. Before a humble heart, God opens His heart totally.
From the audience
[T]he parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (cf. Luke 18:9-14). ... Both the protagonists go to the Temple to pray, but they act in very different ways, obtaining opposite results. The Pharisee “stood” (v. 11) to pray, and used many words. His prayer was one of thanksgiving addressed to God, but in reality it was a display of his merits, with a sense of superiority vis-a-vis “other men,” described as “extortioners, unjust, adulterers,” as, for example — and he points to the other who was there – “this tax collector” (v. 11). But the problem is precisely here: the Pharisee prays to God, but in truth he looks at himself. He prays to himself! Instead of having the Lord before his eyes, he has a mirror. Although being in the Temple, he does not feel the need to be prostrate before God’s majesty; he is standing, he feels sure of himself, as if he were the owner of the Temple! He lists the good works he has done: he is irreproachable, observant of the Law beyond what is due, he fasts “twice a week” and pays “tithes” of all that he gets. In sum, more than praying, the Pharisee is pleased with his observance of the precepts. Yet his attitude and his words are far from the way of acting and of speaking of God, who loves all men and does not scorn sinners. On the contrary, that Pharisee scorns sinners, also when he points out the other who is there. In sum, the Pharisee, who considers himself just, neglects the most important Commandment: love of God and of one’s neighbor. ... Therefore, it is not enough to ask ourselves how much we pray; we must also ask ourselves how we pray, or better, how our heart is: it is important to examine it to evaluate our thoughts, our feelings, and to extirpate arrogance and hypocrisy. [full text]
