Merciful Father

    Todays gospel of the tax collector and the Pharisee gave me an insight to the richness and depth of our Catholic mass. For someone that doesn't understand the mass came directly out of scripture this revelation may be helpful.  At the beginning of mass we say the confetior.

I confess to almighty God

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have greatly sinned,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

through my fault, through my fault,

through my most grievous fault;

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,

all the Angels and Saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

    At the lines through my fault through my fault through my most grievous fault we beat our breast three times.

    Now look at today's reading.  When the tax collector went up to the temple area to pray he could not even lift his eyes to heaven. "But beat his breast and prayed 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner'". The Pharisee on the other hand exulted himself before heaven pontificating his virtues and comparing himself holier than others by his commitment to the laws.  But God wants more than just this following of the law. He desires our hearts..our contrite hearts.  Scripture tells us the tax collector went home justified,  not the Pharisee. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

    How beautiful is our mass? That walks us through the very path the great saints traveled before us giving us their beautiful witness to holiness.