First Reading (Hosea 6,1-6)
Reading from the Prophecy of Hosea.
“Come, let us return to the Lord, he has injured us and will heal us, he has injured us and will heal us. In two days, he will give us life, and on the third day, he will restore us, and we will live in his presence. We must know how to follow him to recognize the Lord. As sure as the dawn is his coming, he will come to us like the first rains, like the late rains that water the ground”. How will I treat you, Ephraim? How will I treat you, Judah? Your love is like a cloud in the morning, like dew that soon melts away. I have crushed them through the prophets, I have destroyed them with the words of my mouth, but like light my judgments expand; I want love, not sacrifices, knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.
– Word of the Lord.
– Thank God.
Gospel (Luke 18,9-14)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke.
— Glory to you, Lord.
At that time, Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in their own righteousness and despised others: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing, prayed like this within himself: ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, thieves, dishonest, adulterers, nor like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give the tithe of all my income.’ The tax collector, however, stood at a distance, and did not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven; I tell you: the latter returned home justified, the other did not. For whoever elevates himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be elevated.”
— Word of Salvation.
— Glory to you, Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, imagine for a moment that we are facing a road. It is long and challenging, and asks us to decide which direction to go. In our spiritual life, the road is also full of forks. We can follow a path of humility, repentance, and reconciliation with God, or we can choose the illusion of our own righteousness and self-sufficiency. Today, the readings invite us to reflect on these choices, on true humility and genuine repentance, and show us that God, in His infinite mercy, is always willing to welcome us when we seek His grace with a contrite heart.
Let us begin with the powerful message of the prophet Hosea. In Hosea 6:1-6, we find a passionate plea from God for His people to turn to Him. It begins with an exhortation: “Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn us in pieces, but He will heal us; He wounded us, but he will bandage us.” This invitation is not one of condemnation, but of reconciliation. The Lord is calling humanity to a restoration. He recognizes that, often, our choices lead us to wounds, to suffering that seems unbearable. However, God offers us a path of healing and renewal.
God knew that, as a people, Israel’s hearts had turned away from Him, that their sacrifices and rituals had become just empty forms of worship. The people of Israel were more concerned with the outward appearance of their faith than with the sincerity of their repentance and love for God. God, through Hosea, makes it clear that He is not satisfied with empty rituals, but desires mercy and knowledge of His heart.
This is what He asks of us: not empty sacrifices or ceremonies, but a transformed heart, a heart that sincerely seeks His will. “For I want mercy and not sacrifice,” says the Lord. He wants the people, and us, today, to seek an authentic relationship with Him, which translates into works of mercy, in concrete gestures of love for others, and, above all, in a broken and repentant heart. This is what God wants: the sincerity of our search for Him, more than any ritual or external appearance.
Now, in the gospel of Luke 18:9-14, we find the famous parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, which clearly illustrates the difference between false justice and true humility before God. Jesus tells us that two men went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee, with a proud and self-satisfied heart, stands tall and considers himself superior to others. He thanks God for not being like other men – thieves, unjust or even like that publican who prays next to him. He says, “I fast twice a week and give tithes of everything I earn.” He relies on his own works, on his own merits, as a means of justifying himself before God.
But the publican, in contrast, stands at a distance, not daring even to lift his eyes to heaven, but beating his breast and saying: “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” This man is not based on his works, but on God’s mercy, recognizing his condition of fragility and sin. And it is he, and not the Pharisee, who is justified.
Here, Jesus teaches us a fundamental lesson about humility and self-knowledge. The Pharisee represents those who believe they are righteous by their own strength, by their own merits, while the tax collector represents the heart that recognizes itself as a sinner and that, therefore, knows that it can only trust in divine mercy. The publican, unlike the Pharisee, has a true attitude of prayer. He knows that, on his own, he can do nothing to please God, but he places all his trust in His grace.
The temptation to be like the Pharisee, to compare ourselves with others, to look at others with contempt and feel that we are better, is a dangerous trap. Many times, in our daily lives, we find ourselves making this mistake. We may think that through our good deeds, our morality, or our efforts, we are closer to God than others. But true righteousness, as the parable teaches us, does not come from our own strength. True righteousness comes from humility before God and the recognition that, without Him, we can do nothing.
And what does this mean for us today? It means that we need to cultivate a heart that recognizes our weakness, that is not deluded by the idea of being sufficient in itself. We need constant repentance, an awareness of our need for God, and a willingness to approach Him with humility. It is in recognizing our fragility that we find God’s strength. He does not reject a contrite heart, but approaches it with His mercy and forgiveness.
My brothers and sisters, today’s great lesson is that God calls us to live sincerely, to put aside appearances and to seek a true conversion of heart. It doesn’t matter how many religious rituals we perform, nor how many times we go to Church, if our life does not reflect this internal conversion and this humble recognition of our dependence on God. The Lord wants, above all, the transformation of the heart. He wants us to be merciful, as He is merciful. He wants us to practice genuine love and compassion in our daily lives.
How about doing an exercise today? Let’s all look inside ourselves. What areas of our life need conversion? Where are we leaning on our own righteousness instead of relying on God’s mercy? What attitudes do we need to change to live in accordance with gospel values? The Lord calls us to a life of humility and service to others, not self-sufficiency or pride.
And the good news is that, like the tax collector, if we turn to God with sincerity and humility, He will welcome us with His forgiveness. No matter what we have done or how we have fallen, He is always ready to lift us up and restore us. We just need to approach with a humble heart, recognizing our fragility, but also fully trusting in His infinite mercy.
Let us now, in prayer, ask God to help us live with humility, to give us a contrite heart and to teach us to be merciful as He is. May we live in His grace, always recognizing that everything we are and have comes from Him. May humility and mercy be the mark of our Christian life, and may we, like the publican, always beat our breasts and cry out: “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Amen.
