A Homily for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

+ Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori. “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
 
These words, uttered in the Temple by a miserable publican who would not dare to come close or even to raise his eyes upwards towards God, but who could only beat his breast with eyes downcast, resound through the centuries. So too do those of the Pharisee, who worships himself and who demands that Almighty God does the same.
 
To be sure, there are the Pharisees of our own times whose altars are their mirrors and whose ideological power-plays in the life of the Church—most clearly in respect of the Church’s ancient liturgical rites, but in many other vital areas as well—seek their own self-aggrandisement rather than the glory of Almighty God. In their self-exaltation such would-be princes and their acolytes “have had their reward” as Our Lord says elsewhere. (cf. Mt 6:2)
 
Whilst not ceasing to pray for the repentance and conversion of these men, and conscious of the duty to work assiduously for the reparation of the damage their actions cause to the salvation of souls, let us return to the miserable publican. He, in his sin, has the grace of humility. Pride has not devoured his sense of shame. The publican has not put Almighty God into a cage and sought to teach Him to worship His creatures’ every thought and deed. Rather, the publican has come to the Temple—the unique place where Almighty God may be most directly encountered on this earth—with few but utterly poignant words: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
 
As St Augustine taught at matins this morning, whilst the publican’s conscience oppressed him, hope in God’s mercy raised him up. Having a conscience and hope in God’s mercy: this is what saved the publican. We would to well to ponder this.
 
Conscience is my ability to know what is right or what is wrong in a particular situation. It enables me to make a practical moral judgement in the face the circumstances that confront me daily. For conscience to function properly it must be formed and informed, it must know God’s Truth faithfully taught by the Magisterium of His One True Church in the circumstances of our particular times. In extraordinary circumstances, such as when medical emergencies occur, I am duty bound to inform my conscience in view of the important decisions that must be made. If my conscience is not formed thus, it is erroneous. It will not guide me along the right path in ordinary or extraordinary circumstances. As an eminent compatriot of mine once blithely put it: “A badly formed conscience is about as much use as a clock that is not set to the right time.”
 
Our miserable publican had no difficulty with his conscience. He did not dismiss his sins by saying “everybody does that”, nor did he justify his immoral actions because they were part of some great ideological programme. No. He knew what is right and what is wrong. He called sin, sin. And he knew that he had truly sinned. Hence, he could utter those humble words of hope: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
 
If the Revelation of Almighty God in history, first to the Chosen People and then in the Incarnation of His Only Begotten Son, is about anything at all, it is about the reality and availability of God’s mercy—a fact we reaffirm every time we make the sign of the cross: the sign of our salvation in Jesus Christ Who is Hope Itself. Through His Sacrifice on the Cross God’s mercy is made available to we sinners: through the Sacraments of the One True Church that He founded we have direct and guaranteed access to it. Baptism into Christ’s Church washes away all sin and when necessary our humble use of the Sacrament of Confession restores our Baptismal purity. Our sins may well be worse than those of a miserable publican, but we may—indeed for the sake of the salvation of our souls, we must—find hope in God’s mercy. St John Chrysostom has some pertinent advice: “Let no one put forward the poor excuse: I dare not [confess my sins], I am ashamed…That kind of fear is from the devil [who] wishes to close approaches to God.” Fear and despair have no place in the Church of Christ: the supernatural virtue of hope and the reality of God’s mercy must reign.
 
As we stand before this Altar this morning, even if we be a long way from it with eyes cast down because of our sins, let us take courage from the Collect of this Holy Mass—indeed, let us pray it repeatedly in the week to come with renewed hope in the mercy of Almighty God: “O God, Who manifests Your almighty power most chiefly in sparing [us] and showing mercy: multiply upon us Your mercy: that as we hasten towards Your promises, You may make us partakers of the heavenly treasures.” Amen. +

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