30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 24, 2010

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,

"O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity –
greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income."

Some people think our prayer can change God’s mind.
Actually, true prayer will change us.
But there was no chance that the Pharisee’s prayer
would have any transformative effect on him.
He seems to think that his extra good life
has earned him the reward of salvation.
But, in the end, the tax collector is the one
who is put right with God because he turned to God for mercy.

When we pray, how much of our time is spent in saying "Thank you" to God?
If, in our daily prayer we started by listing the things
we were thankful for, what effect do you think
that would have on our relationship with God? With others?