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.”
(Luke 18:13)
Lord, only you know my heart. You do not compare me to any other creature, but judge me on whether I am open to your mercy. In the light of your love, I can acknowledge my sins without fear. I can look on them with sorrow and still trust that you send me home justified. You are bigger than all of my faults; none of them is greater than your mercy. Help me to look at them humbly and courageously.
Give me, today, the humility to see the beam in my eye and ignore the splinter in that of my neighbor.