Be merciful to me

30th Sunday Of Ordinary Time, Year C

Prayer is the theme for today’s Gospel. Is there a wrong and a right way of praying? Is there a formula for prayer? Or is a method better than another? How long should I spend in prayer? Are there specific words that I should use? Although today’s Gospel is short, it answers these questions, and others too. 

The Gospel refers to a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisees were a religious sect. The Law of Moses and the rites emerging from it, were very important for them. Jesus criticised the Pharisees, not for their belief, but for the way they interpreted and lived this Law. The people of the time respected the Pharisees. The tax collectors, on the other hand were abhorred since the taxes were for the Romans. Moreover, it was well known, that more money was collected than was due and these tax collectors kept the difference for themselves! They were thieves!

Therefore, when the people heard the beginning of the parable, they expected Jesus to praise the Pharisee. However, Jesus surprises them, when instead he praised the tax collector. 

They had both gone to the temple to pray. However, their prayer was different. The first one was proud, whilst the second humble. When we pray, we should address God the Father. This is what Jesus himself taught us, when praying the Lord’s Prayer. We pray to a Father who loves us and who is merciful. God is not a judge, and we do not need to defend ourselves or justify our actions. God knows all, God knows our desires and our needs. So why do we pray? As parents, you can understand this. You generally know what your children wish for, however you wait for them to ask. Even when they ask, you do not always give it to them, you may also give it to them, but at a different time. This is what we pray in the Our Father, “your will be done.” We do not pray, “our will be done.”

A reading from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 18, 9-14) 

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity, greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 

But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. The Pharisee considered himself superior to the tax collector. Do you feel superior to others? Do you think this is a good attitude to take? Can you start looking at these people, the way that God looks at them?
  4. How is your prayer life? Do you pray every day? If not, try and start from today.
  5. Have you been to the sacrament of reconciliation, recently? Find time to make an examination of conscience, then go to confession. Be an example to the rest of the family and go together to receive this sacrament. You may use one of these sites to help you make an examination of conscience https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/sacrament-reconciliation-married-persons-examination-of-conscience or https://www.usccb.org/resources/Examination-of-Conscience-Ten-Commandments.pdf 
  6. Together with your family find the right time to read this Gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare;
    i. The Bible reading from St Luke (Lk18, 9-14)
    ii. A candle
    iii. Cover the table with a green cloth
    v. A computer/laptop with the readings and clips
  7. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested).
  8. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  9. Be creative 😊 

Today, Jesus is going to tell us a parable. What is a parable? It is a story which Jesus said to teach us something. Today, Jesus wants to teach us about prayer. 

  • When we pray, God does not want us to tell him how good we have been, or what we know how to do better than others, God wants us to talk with him, like when we talk with someone who knows us well and loves us
  • Printout of today’s activity, on construction paper
  • Colours
  • Scissors
  • A small box or container
  • Children’s bible
ActivityDownload

Who were those two men who entered the temple to pray? (a Pharisee and a tax collector)

The Pharisees knew the Law of God very well and they obeyed it. They were considered by many, to be good persons. However, Jesus was not very pleased with the Pharisees. They used to wear beautiful clothes, differently from others. They enjoyed being looked at and praised. This is what displeased Jesus. They did what was good to be praised by the people and not to praise God! 

The tax collectors did not have many friends. They collected taxes for the Romans. However, they collected more than they should and kept the difference for themselves! This was not right, wasn’t it? They used to steal. Do you know that one of Jesus’ friends was a tax collector? His name was Matthew and when he got to know Jesus, he did not continue doing wrong choices and became his friend. Zacchaeus too, became Jesus’ friend and was also a tax collector. Do you know the story of when Jesus met the man on the tree?

In today’s parable, Jesus tells us that the Pharisee went to the temple (the temple is like a church) and in a voice which could be heard, he boasted about the way he lived. Do you know what to boast means? The Pharisee told God about the good things he did and that he did not make bad choices like the tax collector. These words did not please God. This is not the way that we should pray. The prayer of the tax collector was different. He did not go to the front of the temple to be seen and heard by all. He stayed at the back and spoke to God. He told God that he was sorry for the wrong he did. 

Everyone is good at one thing or another. For example, some know how to draw, others dance or play football, there are those who know how to sing or play a musical instrument. All the things we know how to do are gifts from God. God loves us so much in giving us all these talents! God would like us to thank him for these gifts but he does not want us to boast about them. So, if for example you know how to sing better than the rest of the class, you do not need to say, “Look at me, I am so good at singing, I am better than all of you. I even come first or second in the competitions!” This does not mean that God does not want us to be happy when we do good things, it is only that God does not want us to boast or make fun of others, who do not know how to do the things we do.

Today’s activity is about prayer. We are to thank God for all the things we receive, for the people who love us and help us, we are to say sorry for the wrong things we do. You have a printout of the alphabet. With an adult’s help, cut around the cards. Colour and decorate the alphabet cards. When you are ready, put them in the box. Leave this box near your bed, so that before you go to sleep, you will use the cards to pray. Before going to bed, choose three or four cards. Your parents may help you, if you find it difficult to find a name, word or action starting with that letter. For example, the letter M may remind you of Mireille, your friend, L may remind you of a lie you said at school, G may remind you of your grandparents, whilst D reminds you of dance and S of the sun. Use these cards to pray. You may thank God for your friends, especially for Mireille, for your grandparents (mention their names). Ask God to forgive your lie and thank him for the talent of dance. Also thank God for the sun which keeps you warm. Afterwards replace the cards in the box, and the following night, choose some other cards.

God loves us a lot, God knows us, God knows our thoughts and feelings. God knows when we are happy and when we are sad. God loves it when we talk to him and tell him about what we did and about our feelings. Whilst doing the cards, listen to, Looking at my heart, (note to parents: in the activity we mentioned St Paul, St Matthew and Zacchaeus. One of these days, read or help the children to read, these stories from the Bible).

Sign of the Cross.

There is a prayer we say, to show God that we are sorry for what we did wrong. If you do not know it yet, start learning it, it is called the Act of Contrition.

After saying the Act of Contrition, take three cards from the box to help you thank God for someone or something.

In today’s Gospel, we will listen to Jesus recounting a parable, about two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector, who went to the temple to pray. Their prayer is different. Let us listen to what Jesus wants to teach us.

  • We should pray from our hearts; we ought to thank God for all his gifts and we should also ask for forgiveness
  • God knows us well. We do not need to boast. The talents we have are gifts we receive from him
  • 2 mugs, one dirty from the inside, the other from the outside
  • Printout of today’s activity, on construction board
  • Scissors
  • Colours and decorations
ActivityDownload

Before talking about the Gospel, we will first carry out an experiment. There are these two mugs (note to parents, when you show them the mugs, do not allow the children to see the inside). Mummy or daddy are going to prepare for you, some hot chocolate, or anything else that you like. Which mug would you like them to use?

You chose the mug which was clean from the outside, because you could not see the inside, you thought that it would be clean from the inside too! The Gospel does not speak about mugs. Yet, it mentions two people who looked differently from the outside. Jesus teaches us that for God it is more important the way that we look on the inside, rather than on the outside. That is, what is in our hearts, is more important.

Who are the Pharisees and the tax collectors?

The Pharisees were a group of people who knew the Law of Moses well. They looked like people who obeyed all that the Law laid down, they were admired by many, they were considered to be good people. On the other hand, the tax collectors did not have many friends. They collected taxes for the Romans. Many of them collected more than the amount that they were supposed to and kept the difference for themselves. The tax collectors were thieves.

What did the Pharisee do, on entering the temple? (he started boasting and thanking God that he was not a sinner)

What did the tax collector do? (he stayed at the back of the temple and asked God to forgive him)

We do not impress God with our boasting! God knows everything, God also knows what is in our hearts. The difficulty of the Pharisees was that although they obeyed the Law of God, they primarily did this, so that others praised them! They were more concerned about what the people thought of them, rather than what God thought! They impressed those around them, because on the outside they looked like good people. However, God knows what is in our hearts, too. 

Do you remember the test we did with the mugs? You could not see the inside of the mugs. In fact, in this case, the inside was more important than the outside, as the hot chocolate was to be on the inside of the mug. The mug which was clean outside, was more attractive, however it was not good to use. 

This is what Jesus would like to teach us. God knows us well. God knows what is in our hearts. For God, what is in our hearts, is more important than how people see us from the outside. We should not lose heart, if our good deeds are not noticed. God would have noticed them! Similarly, we should not choose to do good, so that we are praised by others, Should we act in this manner, we would be behaving as the Pharisee did. 

We are all good at one thing or another, we all have talents. There are those who are good at school, others at football, dancing or singing, there are those who can draw or say jokes. There are many different talents and all are gifts from God. That is why we should not boast about them!

In today’s activity you have a template of glasses. Cut them out, colour and decorate them. These are special glasses. When God looks at us, he sees what is in our hearts. The people around us, do not necessarily see this because it does not show on the outside. So, when you meet someone who is not wearing fashionable or clean clothes, who does not do so well at school, who does not have friends, who is different from you, remember these special glasses which you made, and look at this person as if you are looking through them, because these special glasses see what is in the person’s heart, and not only what shows on the outside. Remember that God loves this person, in the same way he loves you.

Whilst decorating the glasses, listen to, Jesus look inside my heart.

Sign of the cross.

The tax collector asked God to forgive him. At the beginning of mass, we too ask God to forgive us and to show us mercy. Let us say this prayer.

I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and 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.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

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God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.