Readings: Sirach, 2 Timothy, Luke
[W]hoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
If you could take a completely clean sheet of paper and describe the kind of person you truly want to be, what would you write? There is no cost to it—ink is cheap and imagination is free. You could write down your ideal physical self: 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, 4% body fat, strong and cut like a young champion bodybuilder. You might not be that today, but it is easy enough to picture. We can all imagine the ideal version of ourselves: smart, educated, confident, charismatic, disciplined.
But what about our spiritual ideal? There it suddenly becomes harder. Most of us assume we are “doing okay.” We look in the mirror every morning, but we rarely look into the soul. The problem is that we let ourselves off the hook far too easily. The phrase people often use is, “Well… I’m basically a good person.” But “basically” usually means, “I haven’t killed anyone or robbed a bank.” That is a low bar. When we look honestly, we see the “small” sins: we lie, we gossip, we judge others, we skip Sunday mass while claiming to love God. It is like saying “I love my spouse, I just never want to spend time with him/her.” We assume the worst about other people’s motives, while giving ourselves the benefit of every excuse.
Jesus addressed this mindset in the Gospel: those convinced of their own righteousness who despised others. The Pharisee congratulated himself; the tax collector simply bowed his head and said, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Only one went home justified.
The spiritual ideal begins not with self-congratulation, but humility: not “I am basically good,” but “Lord, I am a sinner in need of mercy.” Only there does transformation begin—when we let God tell us who he wants us to be; after all, he is our creator and wants us to be truly holy, truly amazing.
Reflection
- If you were to take a blank sheet of paper today and write down the kind of person you want to become spiritually—not just physically or socially—what qualities would you list, and why aren’t they yet visible in your life?
- When you say, “I’m basically a good person,” what are you really relying on for that measure—your own comparison with others, or an honest examination before God?
- Do you pray more like the Pharisee (listing what makes you righteous) or like the tax collector (humbly acknowledging your need for mercy), and what would need to change for your prayer to reflect true humility?