Do you sit in the same pew each week? A few weeks ago a woman told me that she and her husband and children sit in the same row she sat in with her parents when she was growing up. Have you ever unknowingly sat in someone else’s customary pew? How about the back pew? Some people stake out their places there too! Back pews in Churches often are a refuge for late comers, early leavers, parents with small children or those who might not want to be immersed in all that “church community stuff.”

What about the tax collector we meet in today’s gospel? He too sat in the back pew - - because he had an attitude. Of course, the Pharisee relished the front pew and sat there because he, too, had an attitude. Interestingly enough, for one the attitude helped him to pray and undergo conversion. The other had an attitude that kept him in a shallow world of self absorption and conceit. Such a disposition forms a hardened shell that cannot easily be broken. Is it any surprise that the Pharisee went away empty in the eyes of God. He received nothing because he needed nothing –at least in his own eyes. What an attitude!!

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor,” says the psalmist. This disposition is echoed in Sirach: “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds and will not rest till it reaches its goal.” The tax collector found his God and justification because he prayed with a poverty of spirit. He prayed with open hands that held nothing except his own neediness and humility. What an attitude!!

In his classic book, With Open Hands, Henri Nouwen describes prayer that bears fruit as praying with open hands. Open hands do not hold on to anything. They are able to touch, to feel and above all to receive. In prayer, the tax collector acknowledged his sins and neediness. With open heart and hands, he received what he needed. However, the Pharisee, with clenched fist, arrived at a dead end because he lacked humility and the awareness of his need to change. He was not open to the possibility that with God’s help he could become a better person. As long as he persisted in that attitude, God could only leave him to wallow in his own virtue, his self-appointed sainthood. Perhaps he was afraid to be poor, afraid to let go of his preconceived ideas, afraid to allow God to lead him to new ways, afraid to trust and afraid to lose control of his life. But such a life is as fragile as a house of cards. Little did he realize how rich in prayer was that tax collector who prayed with an enviable poverty of spirit, a poverty that created space where God could enter.

What does this mean for us? In short, we must each make that space for God and learn to let go of whatever fears, attachments and attitudes that hamper our life of prayer.

Remember: it is not the pew that’s important. It’s the attitude that sits in it that counts.

In the first reading today we hear, “The Lord is a God of justice, who knows no favorites. Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.” This passage led me to share with the Tuesday scripture group about a decision by the Central and Latin American bishops during 1968. The great majority of priests and bishops were from the wealthy families, since the poor were largely illiterate, and there was no middle class in most countries. [How could you go to the seminary to study if you couldn’t read and write?] The bishops decided during their meeting at Medellin, Mexico after much soul-searching, prayer and dialogue that the Church in their countries needed to begin to speak of and base their actions on an “option for the poor.” From their reading of the scriptures, especially the prophets whom we hear from during the Lenten season, and from their serious reflection on Jesus’ life and ministry, it seemed to them that God is on the side of the poor. Jesus constantly is criticized for “hanging out” with sinners: prostitutes, tax collectors, a ritually unclean woman, and others whom society considers on the margins. The bishops decided that since societal structures were against the poor, the Church at least needed to be for the poor. [This doesn’t mean against the rich, though some well-to-do Catholics took it that way.] You may have seen the movie “Romero” which captured accurately the story of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. He was from the upper class and his appointment was greeted with elation by the wealthy landowners who were cheating their workers. Catechists and priests had been working with the people telling them that their misery was not God’s will and that they could organize to peacefully ask for the share of the crops that were theirs in exchange for their work. As catechists began to be killed by the army, those working with small groups continued their teaching of the gospel. So the government troops began to kill the “activist priests.” When various people reported this to Archbishop Romero, he didn’t want to get involved. But then his friend, Fr. Rutilio Grande, whose commitment to God and to the poor he knew well, was killed. He knew he must act. He became an outspoken preacher of the truth, calling on the army to lay down their arms since it was their brothers and sisters they were killing. As we know, this tireless defender of the poor was murdered while celebrating Mass in the cathedral in San Salvador.

As we face the approaching election, we also need to hear “the cry of the poor.” We might ask ourselves: Which candidate/party seems aware of our country’s responsibilities to the poor? Which candidate/party sees the United States as a participant with other nations in responding to the global challenges facing us: AIDS, abject poverty, trafficking in women and children, terrorism? In terms of local propositions, which ones will provide funds needed for health, education and social services? Which ones will take away those funds?

Option for the Poor

As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental “option for the poor” – to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess life styles, policies and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. This “option for the poor” does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are the most vulnerable. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.

What does it mean to be a Catholic living in the United States in the year 2004 and beyond? As Catholics, the election and the policy choices that follow it call us to recommit ourselves to carry the values of the Gospel and church teaching into the public square. As citizens and residents of the United States, we have the duty to participate now and in the future in the debates and choices over the values, vision, and leaders that will guide our nation.

Join TIPPS for our Halloween get-together!!

Kids costumes are optional. There will be a potluck-please bring an item to share with six people, and a toy for your child to play with (no balls or weapons please). Feel free to invite new TIPPSters! As was discussed at our last meeting, we would love to see all the kids in costume-BRING YOUR CAMERA.

November is traditionally the month set aside by our church to commemorate and celebrate the memories of our departed loved ones. This year we will have a special Mass on the feast of All Souls, Tuesday, November 2nd at 7:30 p.m. All are invited to this liturgy. The names of those buried from St. Robert’s will be read aloud by members of the consolation Ministry. We will have a special shrine erected in Our Lady’s alcove (in the church with their names inscribed in a Memorial Book. Please, bring pictures, memorial cards or flowers to place in this shrine all during November. We will also, post their names around the walls of the church, so that the faithful will be reminded of our departed loved ones each time they enter the church. We are asking a special favor from you, the parishioners. We have recorded all those buried from Saint Robert’s but would like to remember all of your departed loved ones that are buried/cremated from any other church or Funeral Home during the past year. Call, e-mail or fax their names to the Rectory or to sister Patricia before November 1st.