About the Pharisee and customs mab

You know folk wisdom that when two do the same, it’s not the same. Even in today’s Gospel, two people do the same – they pray. But Jesus does not evaluate their prayer equally. My God’s only prayer was the myth. The Pharisee put himself and his deeds at the center of prayer. He presented God with a catalog of all his virtues. He was convinced that when he himself saw them, God had to see them, he had to admire and appreciate them. But the opposite was true. In this prayer, the Pharisees discovered himself, but lost God. After all, no one can find God for whom perfection is his goal. For such a goal shakes hands and works with pride, the greatest enemy of God. The myth found nothing except sin and therefore asks God: “be merciful to me sinful”. According to him, God had nothing to admire in his life. But precisely because he was aware of his sinfulness, his emptiness, God could enter his life and give him a new dimension. The sinner shook his hand with humility and regret, which are the most beautiful human manifestations that He likes to reward.

A medieval legend tells of a young woman who knocks on the heavenly gate after her death. But no one opens it, for she has done many evil deeds during her life. But there was hope for her. He gets to heaven on the condition that he returns to earth and finds there a gift that is most pleasing to God. She returned to the ground and began to seek such a gift. What can it be? One day she passed a young man who had laid down his life for faith. She quickly picked up the drops of his blood, which she believed was certainly the sweetest gift to God if someone lay down his life for faith. But the gate of heaven did not open for her. She searched further. She found a weary missionary with sweat dripping from his forehead. You said it would surely be God’s favorite gift when one sacrificed his life to the service of the Gospel. So she took the drops of sweat from the missionary’s face and brought them to the heavenly gate. But the gate did not open again. She went back to the ground and looked further. She was already unhappy and wanted to give up. She sat down at one of the fountains, wondering what to do next. Children were playing at the fountain and she saw their pretty and innocent faces. Suddenly a man came to the fountain. He jumped from his horse and wanted to drink water. But he looked at the children and remembered his own childhood. Then he looked into the fountain and saw his ruined face in it, recognizing how much he had changed internally, how far he had gone from childhood innocence, how he had sinned the life God had given him. There was great pain in his heart, and tears began to flow down his face. The woman quickly took one of the tears and brought it before the heavenly gate, which opened to her immediately, for the sinner’s tears are the sweetest gift to God.

We, too, create our relationship with God on the basis of regret and humility. Indeed, in our behavior, we can sometimes see how proud the Pharisees are our father to whom we resemble. He mentions one priest preaching about the proud Pharisees and the humble myth. He preached so flame that the listeners were moved, especially one, let’s call it eg. John. He also condemned the Pharisees and the like. After holy mass came to the sacristy to thank the priest for good discipline and added: “I thank God that I do not resemble the Pharisees”. But the myth did not thank God in this way. He didn’t mention anyone, he only regretted humbleness. Only such an attitude can also open us to God’s graces and gifts, whether it be in prayer or in St. John’s. Mass. Even though we all pray, each of us’ s prayer is unique and original. Humility and regret should be common to all of us.