October 27, 2025
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) on October 26, 2025 at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Chicago, IL. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; and Luke 18:9-14.
Luke tells us that Jesus directed today’s parable at people who looked down on everyone else and had convinced themselves that they themselves were virtuous. Even if that doesn’t describe us exactly, I bet we can all find a lot in here to pray about!
All of our readings today talk about two ideas that seem to be in conflict: being confident and being humble. But they’re not in conflict. Today, we’ll explore a topic many people misunderstand: spiritual humility.
The prayer of the tax collector in our gospel passage today is the origin of “The Jesus Prayer,” a prayer used especially frequently by our Orthodox sisters and brothers. The prayer simply says: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners!
In my years as a priest, I’ve heard thousands of confessions. Many people confess that they struggle with the sin of pride. But hearing most of them talk about how and why they’re prideful, I’ve concluded that the sin of pride is usually a sign that we’re struggling with the opposite thing. We struggle with pride… when we don’t have enough self-esteem.
Think about it: we don’t brag about everything we do well, to everyone we know, at all times, do we? I have no need to brag about my talents: I already know that I’m good at them, so there’s no need to tell anyone. When I’m nervous that others will notice that I’m bad at something, that is when I’m likely to brag about something else, hoping to distract people from noticing my flaws.
What do you think of the Pharisee’s motivations for praying out loud about how well he follows the Law? Does he hope that others will overhear him? Does he want to talk about how good he is in some areas, so that he can distract himself – or perhaps distract God – from noticing how he falls short in other ways?
It doesn’t seem as if the Pharisee is fooling anyone but himself. On the other hand, the tax collector is truly humble. The tax collector recognizes that he must rely on God.
But let’s not misinterpret what true Christian humility is. Years ago when I was in campus ministry at a school not to be named, our students learned a prayer called the Litany of Humility. Some students talked with me privately about how much this prayer spoke to them. There were other students, however, who were very public in using it. For them, it seemed as if this prayer had become less of a prayer in the spirit of the tax collector, but more of a humblebrag in the style of the Pharisee: “Hey, everyone! Look at how humble I am!”
On the other hand, Christian humility is not supposed be a beating of the breast, telling God – or anyone else – that that we’re incompetent. C. S. Lewis said it well: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”
Or, to think about it in another way: humility requires confidence. True Christian humility is having sufficient confidence that God loves us, so that we aren’t obsessed with trying to impress every person at every moment for everything we do. God loves us without any conditions attached. Christian humility is having the confidence that we don’t have to do more in order for God to love us more.
Here comes the big ask of this homily: please consider celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis. It’s one of the two sacraments we can repeat over and over again. (We can receive Communion every week and even every day. We can also repeat the sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick and Marriage, but we’d rather that you not get sick or get married on a regular, repeating basis!) Today, we have/had a special Reconciliation service for 6th & 7th grade students in our Sunday Faith Formation program and their families. In the month of November, we’ll have another 7 services for students in the School and the Sunday Faith Formation program, and then we’ll have an Advent communal penance service for the whole community on Monday evening, December 15.
When the sacrament of Reconciliation is done properly, it’s a celebration of God loving us no matter what. And isn’t that something we all need to celebrate on a regular basis? And if you can’t make it to these services, we always have confessions at 4 pm on Saturdays. You can also reach out to any church and make an appointment with the priest of your choice. Just give them as much notice as possible so you can find a mutually convenient time.
The sacrament of reconciliation is a time for us to be lifted up, to eliminate our sense of shame and to reassure us that we are intimately connected to God. Of course we should all talk with God about our sins and our shame, and ask God directly for forgiveness, like the tax collector, on a frequent basis. But there is something truly healing in naming these things out loud in front of another human being.
In the sacrament of reconciliation, my role is to assure the penitent, even in moments of doubt, that God’s grace is present, that God truly forgives us. Ideally, reconciliation should provide the grace to move us from a humility based in shame of our sins towards a humility based in the confidence that God loves us as we are. My advice: go to confession at least as often as you’re supposed to go to the dentist. If you see a professional to help you care for your teeth, even if it’s often uncomfortable, why not consult one to help you care for your soul?
Granted, our experience of confession is largely based on the personality of the individual priest. I assure you that Fr. Dan, Fr. Bob, and I will treat you with gentleness, as will Fr. Ed T., Fr. Ed V., and Fr. Kevin, who will be helping at some of the services. And Fr. Nick, helping today and on November 20, has been described as a “teddy bear who you will want to rest your head in his lap by the end of your confession.” All of us would be honored to help relieve you of the burdens you carry!
We’re coming to the end of our year with the Gospel of Luke. After a break the next two weekends for special feast days, we’ll wrap up with two final weekends with Luke before we begin Advent with the Gospel of Matthew. Let’s review the many examples in Luke about the rewards of humble confidence in our relationship with Christ. Quoting Isaiah, Mary, Simeon, and John the Baptist, Luke has Jesus and others prophesy at least 10 times that the mighty will be cast down and the lowly will be lifted up1. Jesus treats individuals and groups outside of Jewish religious leadership with dignity – raising up the poor at least 3 times,2 welcoming, praising, and collaborating with Samaritans,3 other non-Jews,4 and women5 at least twice each, in addition to specifically praising widows two other times.6 Jesus instructed us on how to pray at least 4 weekends out of the last 14.7 We’ve heard about Jesus’ love for sinners at least three times,8 and if we didn’t have a special feast day next weekend, we’d hear about it again then.9
No matter how lowly, no matter how powerless, no matter how incompetent we may feel, the Holy Spirit compels us to proclaim the gospel and build up the kingdom. Christian humility gives us the confidence that, despite our imperfections, God works through all of us to reconcile the world.
Notes
- Luke 1:46-55, 2:29-38, 3:4-6; 3:7-20, 4:14-21, 6:20-26, 6:27-38, 12:13-21, 14:7-14, and 18:1-8. ↩
- Luke 5:1-11, 6:20-26, and 16:19-31. ↩
- Luke 10:25-37 and 17:11-19. ↩
- Luke 13:22-30 and 14:7-14. ↩
- Luke 8:1-3 and 10:38-42. ↩
- Luke 7:11-17 and 18:1-8. ↩
- Luke 11:1-13, 17:11-19, 18:1-8, and 18:9-14. ↩
- Luke 7:38-50, 15:1-32, and 16:1-8. ↩
- Luke 19:1-10. ↩