This Sunday’s Gospel presents the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector—two men who go to the Temple to pray, but whose hearts are very different. The Pharisee stands in confidence, listing his good deeds and comparing himself favorably to others. The tax collector, however, stands at a distance, unable even to lift his eyes to heaven. He beats his breast and says humbly, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Jesus concludes: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This parable perfectly captures the message of Prison Awareness Sunday. Today, the Church invites us to open our hearts to those who are deprived of freedom—men and women who, like the tax collector, cry out to God for mercy, forgiveness, and a new beginning. Many of them carry deep wounds of guilt, regret, and rejection. Yet, as the Gospel reminds us, God looks not at appearances, but at the heart.

The tax collector’s prayer—“Have mercy on me, a sinner”—could easily be the prayer of every person behind bars. But it should also be our prayer, for before God we are all in need of mercy. The difference between us and those in prison is not that they are sinners and we are not, but that we have all fallen short of God’s glory, though in different ways.

To observe Prison Awareness Sunday means more than remembering prisoners in our prayers. It means seeing in them the face of Christ—often wounded, forgotten, or judged. Jesus Himself identified with them when He said, “I was in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:36). We are called to extend compassion, to promote justice, and to help those in prison find dignity and hope through genuine rehabilitation and reconciliation.

The Pharisee’s mistake was not that he lived a moral life, but that he closed his heart to mercy—both for himself and for others. The tax collector, in his humility, opened his heart to God’s transforming grace. As followers of Christ, we are invited to do the same: to humble ourselves, to seek God’s mercy, and to become instruments of mercy for others, especially for those whom society has condemned or forgotten.

Let us make our own the humble prayer of the tax collector:
“Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
May our compassion for those in prison reflect the boundless mercy of God, who alone justifies and renews hearts.