I've always felt a little sorry for the Pharisee, it seems he is trying to follow the Lord in holiness. Perhaps he's genuinely pitying a fellow who is, by reputation and by his own account, a public sinner. Yet the Lord detects a terrible case of pride. So we must look at the Pharisee more closely: he is aware that sin exists, that miserly, lying, adulterous people abound, but he cannot see these sins in himself. He is forgetting that these vices have roots in all people. If evil growths of bad deeds did not spring up in his life, it is by the grace of God. We must ever be on guard against their appearance even in incipient and subtle forms. The Pharisee does not investigate humbly, but denies proudly: "I'm not being greedy, just enjoying the good things in life; I'm not dishonest, just clever, savvy" and so on His conscience has grown dull, his rationalizations ever ready.

No doubt the Pharisee spent much more time excusing and defending himself before God, than he did searching out his hidden sins. He should have listened more to the Psalmist: But who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults. (Ps 19.12) Perhaps, his faults were hidden to no one but himself. The inconsistency between what a man professes and how he acts can be quite astonishing. The Publican, on the other hand, confesses his sins, honestly and completely, to God. Because He is genuinely sorry, because he does not try to justify himself, he merits the joy of being given a share in God's own righteousness. Every attempt to justify oneself by lowering standards or blaming circumstances, by re-describing one's actions or focusing only on ones intentions, inevitably fails. God sees through such attempts to exalt ourselves, to save ourselves. He regards them scornfully, as he does the Pharisee in the story. St. Paul would say that such people are enemies of the Cross, who would empty it of its power.

Now, if we apply this to ourselves, we will want to run to God often to receive his forgiveness in Christ Jesus. Indeed, the measure of a person's humility and resistance to self-righteousness is the frequency that a person has recourse to the sacrament of penance. There is no doubt that "confessing to God directly" leads very quickly to the stance of the Pharisee - head held high, very few sins in sight. But the Lord knows that for us to really face up, to and acknowledge our sins, it helps tremendously to have to admit them to another person. That is why individual vocal confession is so humbling - even when it is anonymous. No one must ever be afraid to come to confession. The encounter is with Jesus Christ Himself (the priest is just an instrument that God has chosen). Jesus is genuinely, completely sinless, it is true, but He is not for all that like the Pharisee, who thinks purity is a reason to despise everyone else. On the contrary, Jesus, sinless though He was, took the part of sinners. He sought them out, He befriended and defended them, He saw the good that was left in them. He identified Himself with them, taking his part with the accursed, dying upon a cross. He is drawn to us, because we are sinners, as a merciful child is drawn to a bird, because it has a broken wing. He loves us.

Why don't we all turn again and seek the true face of God which is shown to us in the confessional. The merciful, gentle holy face of God which endured buffets and spitting and a crown of thorns for us, to win us a crown of righteousness. Let us thank God, not for making us better than other men, but for making Himself similar to us in our wretchedness. For that reason only can we hold our head up high!