📖 Introit (Ps 54:17-18, 20, 23 | ibid., 2) (Áudio)
Dum clamárem ad Dóminum, exaudívit vocem meam, ab his, qui appropínquant mihi... When I cried to the Lord, He heard my voice, from them that draw near to me. And He humbled them, Who is before all ages, and remains for ever. Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. Ps. Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication; be attentive to me and hear me.
🕊️ Epistle (I Cor 12:2-11)
Brethren: You know that when you were heathens, you went to dumb idols, according as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, saith Anathema to Jesus. And no man can say the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all. And the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit. To one indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom: and to another, the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to another, faith in the same Spirit: to another, the grace of healing in the one Spirit: to another, the working of miracles: to another, prophecy: to another, the discerning of spirits: to another, diverse kinds of tongues: to another, interpretation of speeches. But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will.
✝️ Gospel (Lk 18:9-14)
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves as just, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.
🤔 Reflections
📜The Pharisee was not really praying to God, but praising himself; he was near to himself, but far from God (St. Augustine, Sermon 115). Pride renders useless those works which would otherwise be admirable, for what can be more praiseworthy than fasting and tithing? Yet, pride ruined everything (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on the Incomprehensible Nature of God). The diversity of graces, such as the gifts described in the epistle, is ordered for the benefit of the whole Church; thus, no one should become proud of a gift they have received, for they did not receive it for their own good, but for the good of all (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 171, a. 3).
📖The parable of the Pharisee and the publican is unique to the Gospel of Luke, highlighting its focus on God's mercy towards sinners and the marginalized. However, the theme of humility is central in other gospels. Matthew records Jesus' teaching that "he that shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:4) and the beatitude for the "poor in spirit" (Mt 5:3). Mark emphasizes the same lesson with the exhortation: "If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all, and the minister of all" (Mk 9:35). John presents the lesson of humility in a practical manner, through Christ's act of washing the disciples' feet, a supreme act of service (Jn 13:1-17).
✒️The Gospel's warning against self-righteousness echoes strongly in the writings of St. Paul. The day's epistle itself (I Cor 12) serves as a counterpoint to pride by teaching that spiritual gifts, however diverse, come from the one Spirit for the common good, not for individual glory. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul offers the supreme example of humility, that of Christ, who "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," and he exhorts the faithful to have "the same mind," considering others as better than themselves (Phil 2:3-7). To the Romans, he warns directly: "not to be more wise than it behoveth to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety" (Rom 12:3), condemning the attitude of the Pharisee.
🏛️The doctrine of humility as an essential virtue for justification is firmly established in the documents of the Church. The Roman Catechism, when discussing Penance, describes the contrition necessary for the forgiveness of sins as an act that demands a humble acknowledgment of one's own guilt and trust in God's mercy, the very attitude of the publican. The Rule of St. Benedict details a spiritual path through twelve degrees of humility, considering it the ladder by which one ascends to heaven, in contrast to the pride that leads to a fall. Papal encyclicals, such as Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum by Benedict XV, warn against pride and individualism as the roots of social evils, proposing Christian charity and humility as the remedy.