On Wednesday of this week, October 26, I will celebrate the tenth anniversary of my ordination as a bishop and installation as the eighth bishop of Sioux Falls. We celebrate anniversaries for at least two reasons. One is to pause and look back over the events and happenings of those years, the joys which encourage us and the sins and mistakes which encourage us to seek forgiveness and to learn from them.
I will celebrate my anniversary Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Among my great joys of these years is the deepening of my relationship with Jesus Christ through Mary. At that Mass I will re-consecrate my life, my priesthood and my bishopric to Our Lady under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of all the Americas.
The second reason we celebrate anniversaries is to thank God for the blessings received and to remember others for the many ways they have touched our lives. I chose as my episcopal motto Confitemini Domino, Give Praise to the Lord. I do so every day but will in a special way this week. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, support, generosity, challenges and mercy. I give Praise to the Lord for all of you.
Until ten years ago I had never been to South Dakota. I came from Wisconsin with its hills and trees. The wide-open space of South Dakota was at first a surprise. But I have grown to love the vastness and beauty of the open skies and the expansive vistas that speak of the glory of God’s creation, although the wind is sometimes a challenge. Now though when I go back to Wisconsin I feel closed in by those hills and trees and long to return to South Dakota, my home. What I especially give praise to the Lord for is the deep faith, the trust in God, the generous spirit, the can do attitude and the awe and wonder in God’s presence that is deep in the heart, spirit and history of the Catholic Church in Eastern South.
I look forward to whatever time God gives me to continue to serve as your bishop and to be part of your church family. I Give Praise to the Lord for these ten years, for this day and for the days to come.
Enough about me, now a word about our readings which encourage us to reflect on when and how we pray. Last week Jesus taught about the need to pray always with persistence and patience. This week he teaches about the need for prayer that is humble. Note how Luke sets the scene: “Jesus addressed this parable to those who were concerned with their righteousness and despised everyone else”.
In this Gospel two are praying in the Temple. There is the Pharisee, a religious leader. Jesus notes that the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself.” He thanks God for not being like others. He pats himself on the back for his holiness and piety reflected in his actions. “I do this, I do that.” He is absorbed with himself. As one commentator put it, the Pharisee went to the temple not to pray to God but to tell God how good he was, especially in comparison to others. None of what the Pharisee recalls about his practice is bad, in fact it is admirable. It is his motivation that raises questions.
In contrast to the prideful Pharisee is an avowed sinner, a tax collector. We do not know whether he was among those unjust tax collectors who used his government position to take advantage of others or if he was seeking strength to change his ways. All that we know is that he was in the temple and that as he prayed he could not even raise his head. His simple prayer was “O God, have mercy on me a sinner.” He did not compare himself with others, he compared himself to who God created him to be and found himself lacking. We know he was sincere because Jesus pointed to him as a model for us. “Whoever exalts himself with be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
How easy it is to exalt ourselves by comparing ourselves favorably with others. After hearing this Gospel proclaimed, one man said to his priest after Mass, “thank God I am not like that Pharisee.” He missed the point, as do we all when we compare ourselves with others and not the standard to which we are called as disciples of Jesus.
Modern day examples include the attack ads some politicians are running. “Thank God I am not like my opponent”, is the message. We are called to build up the kingdom by reaching out not tearing down, by seeking the common good not personal advantage, and not by exalting ourselves as better but by humbling ourselves in recognition that we yet have a ways to go toward holiness.
Saint Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, wrote: “holiness is not one exercise or another, it consists in disposition of the heart, which renders us humble and little in the hands of God, conscious of our weakness but confident, evenly daringly confident, in his fatherly goodness.” Being exalted in this life will do us little good in the next. As the first reading reminds us, “the Lord is a God of justice who knows no favorites.”
It is said that when the emperor of Austria died the burial ritual called for the body of the deceased to be taken to the church where the door would be found closed. The appointed person would knock on the door. From inside a priest would ask: “who is it who desires entry here.” The response was, “his apostolic majesty, the emperor.” The priest responded, “I do not know you.” The door was knocked on again with a similar question, “who seeks to enter here.” The response this time was, “the highest emperor.” Again: “I do not know him.” A third knock and a third question, “Who is it.” This time the answer was: “a poor sinner, your brother.” The church door was then opened and the funeral began.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. And the one who humbles himself will be exalted. As I celebrate my anniversary this week I will pray for all of you. I will also pray “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”