Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
January 24, 2021
Luke 18:10-14 – “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, `God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." (RSV)
Don't Hide from Yourself - To sustain my mask before others takes much energy. One clever way to maintain my mask and to avoid seeing myself as I am is to continuously compare my actions with the actions of those persons whom I consider less than myself. And into what a clever trap I have fallen, for I will always find someone whose outward actions appear to fall short of mine. I will constantly be looking outward toward others and never inward at the movements of my own heart. I will have taken upon myself the heart of the Pharisee, puffed up with emptiness, judgmental and condemning, while thanking God that I am not like another. I will have taken upon myself the heart of the Pharisee, but because of my mask, I will only know myself as the Publican. (Sister Seraphim Olsafsky)
Scripture
- Matins - John 21:1-14 (Gospel 10) Tone 1
- Divine Liturgy - 2 Timothy 3:10-15, Luke 18:10-14
The icon is of the Publican and the Pharisee.
March for Life - Friday, January 29, 2021
Plan now to participate in the annual March for Life! Your witness is vitally important as Americans work to ensure the respect for life for everyone from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have against the evils of abortion and euthanasia. Please note that events are different this year because of COVID-19. The March for LIfe is fully virtual. Some of annual events are not going to be held and others held in a different manner. But everyone can pray!
"The love of God does not distinguish between the newly-conceived infant still in the mother's womb, the baby, the youth, the grown adult or the elderly because in each of them He sees the sign of His own image and likeness." (Pope Benedict XVI)