“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;

one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 

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.’

But the tax collector stood off at a distance

and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

but beat his breast and prayed,

‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’”

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there is a point where the penitent is asked to pray an act of contrition. Some have memorized a prayer from their youth that begins, “O my God, I am heartily sorry for my sins…,” and continues for a good long paragraph. Some who are a bit younger, may start a similar prayer with, “My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.” In fact, in the Rite of Penance, the Church commends a number of different acts of contrition or there is even the option to offer a spontaneous prayer of contrition. Every once in a while, when asked for an act of contrition, someone will use the prayer, “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I can’t help but be impressed. It is the most succinct and shortest act of contrition commended in the Rite of Penance. Involuntarily, I think, “This person knows their stuff,” and a smile spreads on my face. It is the heart of humility, sorrow, and repentance. It is a simple act of faith. Sometimes, simple is better. 

 In a worldwide organization with over 1.3 billion members, sometimes things can get complicated. Even in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is, in some sense, an historical summary of the core teachings of the Church, there are 2,865 paragraphs (or sections containing multiple paragraphs) to address the teachings of the Church. All of this (not to mention Ecumenical Councils, Canon Law, and Liturgical Rites) can be a bit complicated and overwhelming. I was a bit naive when I entered seminary. On my first day, as we headed to chapel for the first time, a more seasoned seminarian asked me, “Do you have a Breviary, yet?” “A what?,” was my reply. “The Liturgy of the Hours that contains Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Night Prayer, and the Office of Readings, among others, organized for every season and day that you’ll have to pray for the rest of your life as a priest,” he said and continued, “You can borrow the One Volume for tonight, but you’ll want to get the Four Volume set.” I was dumbfounded. “I’ll have to do what?!?” I have always thought that the Breviary reminded me of a car mechanic’s manual, with complicated page turning, five ribbons per volume, and over 1,500 pages per volume. It’s not for the faint of heart (thank goodness for the iBreviary app!). Things can get complicated. Another word may be sophisticated. 

In contrast, I think of my mom. I recall, with some embarrassment, a time in my zeal for sophisticated faith that I brought my mom to tears overwhelming her with my knowledge and challenge to her simple belief. It was not a proud moment. Upon deep reflection, I realized that my mom’s faith was that of a child. Simple trust in a loving Father. Her faith was much more significant than mine. With all of the sophistication or complication of our religion, at the heart is placing our trust in God. Simply loving God and others. Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” For all our sophistication, sometimes simple is better. It is more real. It is more true. It is the faith of a child or of a simple tax collector, not that of the Pharisee. “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”