The tax collector in the Gospel shows us the right way to approach God. Beating his breast, the tax collector says, “Be merciful to me a sinner.” In this way, the Lord teaches us how to pray, how to draw near humbly, praying with our “souls exposed”, without make-up or dressing ourselves up with our own virtue. He forgives all our sins. But He needs me to show them to Him. The path is our reality. The only man here in this parable who understood his reality was the tax collector. ‘You are God and I’m a sinner.” That’s the reality. But I say that I’m a sinner not with my mouth but with my heart. When we begin praying with our own justifications, with our securities, that’s not prayer. That’s like speaking to a mirror. Instead, when we begin praying with our true reality – I’m a sinner – this is a good step forward in allowing the Lord to look at us. May Jesus teach us this. Pope’s Homily, Mar.21, 2020
