March 21st, Saturday, Third Week of Lent

Hosea 6: 1-6, Psalm 51: 3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab, Luke 18: 9-14

Today’s three readings reaffirm the vital fact that the first step in recognizing God is to stop looking at ourselves and turn towards Him in humility and recognition of our shortcomings and flaws. In Luke’s gospel the humility in the prayer of the tax collector contrasts vividly with the pride and self-righteousness of the Pharisee. Without recognizing and asking for God’s love and mercy and shifting our focus from ourselves to Him and to our neighbors, our efforts and deeds are shallow and self-serving at best and hypocritical at worst.

It is one thing to read this lesson in humility and selflessness in Scriptures. The lasting lesson is seeing it in practice. When I think of people in my life who were examples of that kind of selflessness, I think of my grandmother and her brother Andrew who was a grandfather to me in my childhood.

I can’t point to any single momentous, dramatic act of sacrifice and love from them. I do remember, with warm affection, that in all their daily interactions with my sisters and me, they focused their love and attention on each of us, giving freely of their time, energy, and interest. I remember Grandmother teaching me how to bake bread and sharing stories about her childhood in Hungary. Uncle Andrew played gin rummy with me for hours on Sundays and took me fishing on summer weekends. And both of them would always listen with real interest to our stories and answer our questions with patience, wisdom, and generosity.

In the simple love and daily kindness of my grandmother and Uncle Andrew, I saw how God wants me to stop centering on myself and rather to turn to Him in humility and selflessness. And in that focus on Him rather than me, He challenges me to show His Love to all the people in my daily life.

Stephen Gonczy, husband, father of one daughter, brother of three sisters