I remember when a certain Jesuit brother died, a most unassuming man. His name was Julius Petrik, always known to us as just Brother Petrik. His funeral Mass took place a few days before the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, with the same readings we will hear this Sunday. They were perfect for him. He was 94 years old, and in the very best sense of the word, he was ordinary. He had been a quiet presence ever since I was a very young man in the Jesuits. He did not attract attention. He took pains to avoid it, so it seemed.

In one sense I never knew him, such was his silence. His gentle eyes pointed down, he carried out his tasks without fuss, and—for a long time, maybe always—he ate his meals in a room by himself. I suppose some would just have called him a “character,” or would have branded him as pathologically shy.

My intuition said otherwise. I sensed something very holy about Brother. As the years went by I would take care to greet him when I would meet him and he would smile with a wide grin and greet me with real gladness. We would exchange some small talk and then each go back to our tasks. Introversion took second place to the palpable spirit of love within him.

I speak of this good man not to publicize him, something that would be a shock to him, but because my heart is more at ease for my encounters with him. In a word, Brother was a humble man. His prayer surely must have reached God.

He served gladly.

I think such humility is the key to this Sunday’s scripture. Listen to what the First Reading says:

The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.

The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,

nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
judges justly and affirms the right,
and the Lord will not delay.

Such prayer pierces the clouds and does not rest till it finds its goal! Of course our minds race to power: anyone who can force their prayers through to heaven must be able to get everything he wants. No worries about being weak or unworthy: such a one has command over the Most High God!

At least it is tempting to think that way.

But look closely. The prayer that finds heaven is that of the lowly. Such prayer stays before God’s throne not because it is wild and stormy but because it embodies the hushed spirit of truth. It whispers humble needs to the very one who can answer them. It does not have a hidden purpose.

Which of the following two people do you think embodies such lowliness? The Pharisee?

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.

or the Publican?

O God, be merciful to me a sinner.

We know what Jesus thinks. In the Gospel he says, “I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Whatever internal battles Brother Petrik may have faced, I thank God that I was blessed to receive his gracious, shy, unassuming love.

I would love to be like him.