Today we hear of two individuals who go to the Temple. The first, who is a Pharisee, fulfills every command of the Law, however, he prays not to God but, in the literal translation of the Greek, prays to himself. The second, who comes from the despised group of the tax collectors, prays to God. True humility, which leads ultimately to exaltation, comes from knowing the truth about ourselves and this comes about through our knowledge of God: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed , we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." (1 Jn 3: 2) The starting point for this, apart from the grace of God that prompts us to pray, is the recognition that as human beings we are all in the same condition in the presence of God: "For there is no distinction, since all have since and fallen short of the glory of God." (Rom 3: 22-23) In this Extraordinary Month of Missions let us all acknowledge, in prayer, our need of God and with the resulting joy of knowing his love be able to share that joy with others.
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