Humility in Prayer

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

26 October 2025

 

First Reading: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

 

Reflection

By: Ma. Rosalina S. Flores

 

Prayer is essential in our lives. As the Church teaches, God desires a conversation with us through prayer. However, we must be mindful of both the content of our prayers and the attitude we have when we pray.

In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches us humility in prayer. The Pharisee approached God enumerating his righteous deeds and his strict adherence to the law. In his prayer, he compared himself to others, elevating himself above the tax collector and feeling more deserving of God’s favor. In contrast, the tax collector’s prayer was simple, only a humble plea for God's mercy. Jesus tells us that it was the tax collector who went home justified, not the Pharisee.

This Gospel reminds us to be humble. When we come before the Creator of heaven and earth, we don’t need to boast about our good works, as God already knows them. What He desires from us is a contrite heart, someone who seeks forgiveness and help that only He can provide. Jesus cautions us against self-righteousness, as God knows the true disposition of our hearts.

What do we pray for? Who are we when we pray? These are important questions to reflect on as we kneel before God in prayer.

Prayer

Lord, teach us to be humble in prayer. As we desire to converse with You, may You open our lips, touch our hearts, and lead us to show compassion and love to others. Amen.

Beatitudes - Beautiful Attitudes

Solemnity of All Saints

1 November 2020
First reading Revelations 7:2-4, 9-14

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,

holding the seal of the living God.

He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels

who were given power to damage the land and the sea,

“Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees

until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,

one hundred and forty-four thousand marked

from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,

which no one could count,

from every nation, race, people, and tongue.

They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,

wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

They cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,

and from the Lamb.”

All the angels stood around the throne

and around the elders and the four living creatures.

They prostrated themselves before the throne,

worshiped God, and exclaimed:

“Amen.  Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,

honor, power, and might

be to our God forever and ever.  Amen."

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,

“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”

He said to me,

“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;

they have washed their robes

and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

 

Second reading                                                          1 John 3:1-3

Beloved:

See what love the Father has bestowed on us

that we may be called the children of God.

Yet so we are.

The reason the world does not know us

is that it did not know him.

Beloved, we are God’s children now;

what we shall be has not yet been revealed.

We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he is.

Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,

as he is pure.

Gospel                                                                          Matthew 5:1-12A

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,

and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 

He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.”

 

Reflection

By Art B. Reyes

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes. Perhaps, this word is commonly heard among the Catholics. It might be frequently heard but it is often misunderstood because there are “ironies”.  I say ironies because it tells us that there is blessings in our sorrow, poverty, persecutions, and deprivations. This is really difficult to understand and even takes a fool to understand. But, it is a source of consolation, a fountain of joy to those who have faith.

The world tells us that happiness is measured by our success, popularity, influence, and wealth. But if only we contemplate about it, we can find out that these are not an assurance that we can attain peace and joy in life. Material things wear out, success can be lost overnight, influence can betray you, and wealth can abandon you in an instant. Yes, those can give you happiness but they are fleeting. What matters really is our family who will always be there, the love that we share that grows and multiplies, our offer of true friendships that can weather any storm, and our harmonious relationship with each other that will last a lifetime. They are the fountains of joy and peace. 

The Beatitudes will help us to finding peace, to moving on, and to finding meaning in whatever situations we are in. Whatever we go through, good or bad, happy or sad, the Beatitudes give us the consolation and the assurance that all will be well if we hold on to God.

Today is also the Feast of all Saints. Saints were not extra-ordinary people, but they lived the Beatitudes. They took the road to holiness by living simply, spreading good deeds, and sacrificing worldly pleasures and wealth. They allowed God to shine through their lives.

Let me share to you the lyrics from one of my favorite songs.

My Peace:

My peace I give unto you

It's a peace that the world cannot give

It's a peace that the world cannot understand

Peace to know, peace to live

My peace I give unto you

My love I give unto you

It's a love that the world cannot give

It's a love that the world cannot understand

Love to know, love to live

My love I give unto you

It's a love that the world cannot understand

My love I give unto you

Prayer

Gracious God, You have so richly blessed us with life, with love and joy, with hope in the midst of despair. Help us to be a reflection of Your overflowing grace so we can be the light of the world shining light in the midst of hopelessness. Let our attitudes in life be as beautiful as the Beatitudes, sharing with others what we have received, boldly proclaiming the good news of your love, finding the seeds of your kingdom within us and letting your way grow in our lives and throughout the world. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit

Pentecost
23 May 2010


Alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Come, let us worship him, alleluia.


First reading Acts 2:1-11 3
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.
Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 103:1,24,29-31,34

Second reading 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

Gospel John 20:19-23
In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’
After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

Reflection
By Elizabeth R. Eguia

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit, you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit, help me to relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation.

Pentecost Sunday reminded me of the power that this prayer possesses every time we recite it. A true and humble person acknowledges that everything is not in our hands and that we need God through the Holy Spirit to be at our side to guide us, to help us make the right decisions.

Four keywords—“persistent”, “seek”, “believe” and “practice” came to my mind as I write this article. Let us be persistent to ask God for help, to ask for guidance, to ask what we need. He knows the plans and the dreams we have. Seek for Him in every moment of our lives whether we are happy or sad. The last few days I felt I was emotional. It could be attributed to women’s monthly cycle. I can’t explain it but it’s like you are surrounded by negativity. It’s hard to battle sometimes and the first thing I did was I ask for His help. I prayed continuously. I uttered…”Jesus help me” for so many times as I can’t do it alone. I seek His help because He is the only one I can rely on especially at that precise moment.

Believe that things will be okay. Believe that everything will be well for His greater glory. At that time, I was already preparing for work. I was emotional that I see tears in my eyes. The good thing is my colleague came and in a way she became an instrument to revert my attention to something else and not feel sad or emotional. God used her to tell me…hey Beth it’s not the end of the world…cheer up. Life is beautiful. It gave me the courage to move on.

Practice what we learn in our lives. During those days when I was emotional, some forces were telling me to listen to El Shaddai via internet. The messages given by Bro Mike Velarde reminded me that we all have power to heal ourselves, power to attain our goals in life. Once we hear the good news, we have to live it in our lives. It will not be easy but the Holy Spirit will lead us the way.

Most gracious and loving God, thank You for making all things possible. Thank you for Pentecost Sunday as it reminded me of such powerful prayer to the Holy Spirit. Instill in our hearts the attitude of being persistent to ask Your help, the attitude of seeking Your will, the attitude of believing that what we ask for will happen and the attitude of practicing in our lives what we have learned from You. The messages that this article will not be possible without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and so I’m giving back the honor and glory to You our Lord, Amen.

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Gifts of the Holy Spirit