THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Tenth Sunday after Pentecost 21 August 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

The question placed before us today is: how do we pray?

We all too often place ourselves in comparison with our neighbor. We look upon his sins and secretly think ourselves better because we have not been tempted to the same sins as he is. Or, we look upon his virtues and secretly consider ours better than his. In either case we make a great mistake.

St. Augustine reminds us that there is no sin which any man commits, that we ourselves might commit if it were not for the grace of God. (Serm 49) Without the grace of God we can fall into each and every sin possible. If we find that we ourselves have not fallen it is truly because God has protected us in this area. It would be foolish for us to consider that we have avoided this or that sin by our own strength and power. Of ourselves we have done nothing to merit praise. If there is any praise that is deserved, then it belongs totally and completely to God, who has worked this grace in us.

Rather than look down upon someone else who has fallen and considering ourselves greater; we should consider that perhaps we are so weak that God has seen fit not to even allow us to be tempted in this area. Perhaps in truth, the one who has sinned may be more pleasing to God as he has been seen fit to have been put into the battle while we are so weak that He has kept us out of the battle. The worse sin appears to be, when we are content to remain in sin, rather than repenting and rising up again to fight the good fight. Our Lord has informed us that there is more joy of the one sinner doing penance than over the ninety-nine who have no need of repentance.

St. Paul admonishes us on the other end of the spectrum not to become despondent when we see that others have received better graces than we have, or to consider that the graces that we have received somehow make us better than our neighbor.

It is the same Holy Ghost that gives one grace to one and another grace to another. He does this as He wills and not necessarily according to the merits or demerits of the person in question. Often we see that God chooses the most unworthy of His children to exhibit the greatest graces and gifts. He often uses the foolish of this world to confound the wise. (1 Cor. 1:27) In such a manner God is sure to be the one honored and glorified for His gifts and it is most obvious that the lowly instrument that He uses is not the source of such magnificent or wondrous things.

We see this manifested most clearly in the lives of the saints, who in the performance of miracles always gave the credit to God and considered themselves unfitted and unworthy of any of the credit.

We too, must learn from the saints. We must avoid considering ourselves above anyone else. If we perchance do observe something better in ourselves than in our neighbor, rather than become puffed up with pride we must constantly remind ourselves that it is God who has done this and not ourselves. Even if we have remained free from one sin or another, we have failed in many others and we would have fallen in this one too if God had not preserved us from it.

The comparison that we are to make is not with ourselves and others, but rather with ourselves and Jesus Christ. He is our role model; He is the one that we must measure up against. Every one of us must find ourselves severely lacking in this comparison and so we must all become like the Publican rather than the Pharisee. If there should ever arise the temptation to compare ourselves against our fellow men let us see in them the good that God has done, and in ourselves the grace that we have wasted or abused. In this manner our prayers will be pleasing and acceptable to God.