Every Page Counts...: Only Genuine Prayer Counts

October 24, 2010 (30^th in Ordinary Time)

Luke 18: 9-14 (Praying Humbly[1])

1. 1. The Pharisee

He did not really go to pray to God. Rather he gives himself a testimonial before God. People would normally give account of what good he/she had done or doing, how better he/she to other people or achieving great with his/her own effort and strength. The Pharisee did not really go to pray; he went to inform God how good he was.

2. The Tax-Collector

He stood at the back, a distance far from the Temple, and would not even lift his eyes to God. He prayed with his heart and with all humility, acknowledging himself unworthy, a sinner, and in dire need of mercy and forgiveness. It is his nothingness, his brokenness and self-despising prayer which won him acceptance before God.

3. There are certain things about prayer which this parable is teaching us:

(1) No man/woman who is proud can pray. As Blessed Teresa of Kolkata said: “love to pray for prayer gives a clean heart. And a clean heart can see God.” But how can we see God if our heart is full of trash, overflowing with ego, hating and condemning? Our prayer must be an act of offering, not forgetting that what good we have is always the initiative of God and what we lack it is always God who provides.

(2) No man/woman who despises his fellow men can pray. In prayer we do not lift ourselves above our fellowmen. We must never forget that like everybody else we are in constant need of God. We may be different from others by our educational achievements, financial status, important and high position, cultural background and race, but it is a fact that we are on equal footing, kneeling before the throne of the mercy of God. Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

(3) True prayer comes from setting our lives beside the life of God. And as we mirror our life in the holiness and greatness of God we can only voice out to Him, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Having this in mind and accepting the fact that without God we can do nothing good, we can now truly pray with our heart, and pray with a grateful heart.

2010年10月24日 (常年第卅主日)

路加 18: 9-14 (純真的心靈祈禱[2])

1. 法利賽人

他並沒有真的去祈求天主。相反的，他在上主面前給自己一個證明。這種人通常需要給予自己一個肯定，他/她這樣做或做什麼，他自己的努力和力量如何比別人更好, 更偉大,。法利賽人沒有真正進到內室祈禱. 他去通知天主他有多好。

2. 稅務員

他站在聖殿後面，遠遠的距離，甚至抬頭看天主也不敢。他在祈禱中，心很難過, 很謙虛地承認自己的不值得，是一個罪人, 需要天主的憐憫和寬恕。其實, 他的虛無，他的破碎和謙卑的祈禱贏得了天主的憐憫。

3. 這比喻教導我們一些有關祈禱的事：

（1） 一個自豪的人是很難真正的進入祈禱的境地。真福德肋撒姆姆說：“要樂於祈禱，因為祈禱給人一顆純真的心靈。而一個純真的心靈能直觀天主.” 但我們怎樣才能看到天主呢，如果我們的心充滿了垃圾，充滿著自我，憎恨和譴責呢？我們的禱告必須是配合行為，而不要忘記我們所有的一切美善是來自天主, 天主的恩寵總是白白的給予. 同樣, 我們的缺乏, 天主永遠會供應, 會滿足我們的需求的。一個充滿驕傲和自誇的心, 他如何能在天主面前祈禱呢?

（2） 沒有任何男人/女人偏重他的兄妹可以祈禱。在祈禱我們不提升自我，超出了我們的鄰居。我們決不能忘記，我們和其他人一樣在不斷的需要天主。雖然我們比別人有不同的教育成果，財務狀況，重要的高地位，文化背景和種族，但一個事實，我們是在平等的基礎上，跪在天主憐憫的寶座前。耶穌說，“凡高舉自己的, 必被貶抑, 凡貶抑自己的，必被高舉。