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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Yr. C
Self-Emptying!
“All real life is meeting,” says Martin Buber, the philosopher. When we meet a good person and become that person’s friend, such a meeting will enrich us. Whenever we experience person-to-person contact and dialogue, we live more fully. This is very evident in the encounter between two people in love. If real life is “meeting,” this certainly applies to our meeting with God in prayer. Prayer is a dialogue between us and the “Absolute You: God.” We speak and listen when we meet God in the Bible, in a good homily, in the Eucharistic celebration, in any good person in any event of our life.
Prayer is something we must learn by doing. Prayer formulas may help as a guide and inspiration for private prayers. Praying makes human beings great at the very moment that we confess our insignificance before God, self-emptying - when we realize our emptiness before Him. This is what we do when we gather for the greatest prayer: “The Mass.” We examine our consciences at the beginning, and confess our sins, we are made ready to glorify God. [Gloria]. This disposes us for the fruit of the Mass. St. Paul found strength in prayer. [2nd Reading].
We must come before God with an empty cup, realizing our need of Him and beg Him to fill us. Coming before God empty means: emptying myself of my pride, leaving my ego, my self-righteousness, self-appraisal, my dishonesty, indeed all my vices. Self-emptying is rooted in the virtue of humility and the realization of our human frailty. When we are too taken up with ourselves, it affects all our common sense and there will be no room for growth. Prayer helps us realize who we are before God and who God is.
Therefore, my inner “Mea Culpa,” would read: “Lord, I am not spiritually strong, I want to be spiritually strong; I am not holy, I want to be holy; I’m not committed to my faith, I want to be committed; I’m not virtuous, I want to be virtuous.” This is what a religious teacher called poverty of spirit. This indeed moves the heart of God, when we encounter with Him, and He, in turn, enriches us.
When we have been so filled, graced and equipped by God, we are encouraged to do the same for others through our intercessions, especially those who are pursuing prayer, virtues and holiness with us. Like St. Paul, the only debt we owe others - spouse, children, family and friends - is to love and pray for them.