The Most Dangerous Spiritual Place | Publican and Pharisee Explained

About this sermon

The most dangerous place to be spiritually is not far from God—but believing we are already close to Him. In this powerful reflection on the Gospel of the Publican and the Pharisee, we are warned at the very beginning of the Lenten journey about a subtle and deadly temptation: religious pride. Before fasting. Before ascetic effort. Before repentance—God looks at the posture of the heart. The Pharisee appears disciplined, correct, and religious. The Publican appears broken, ashamed, and exposed. Yet Christ reveals that humility—not comparison—opens the door to grace. This homily challenges us to examine: Prayer that measures instead of trusts Virtue that separates instead of heals Religious activity used to avoid true humility The Publican offers no defense, no résumé, no justification—only honesty. And that honesty saves him. As we approach Great Lent, the question is not: Am I better than others? But rather: Am I honest before God? If we can whisper in our hearts, “Lord, have mercy on me,” then Lent has already begun. 🕯️ May our Lord Jesus Christ teach us true humility—not as weakness, but as the doorway to grace, healing, and joy. 0:00 Glory to Jesus Christ 0:10 Glory Forever – Amen 0:19 The Most Dangerous Spiritual Place 0:55 Why the Church Gives This Gospel First 1:30 The Pharisee vs the Publican 1:54 God Is Not Impressed by Comparison 2:04 When Prayer Becomes Self-Measurement 2:50 The Publican’s Honest Prayer 3:29 What True Repentance Really Is 4:04 Why Religious Activity Can Hide Pride 4:37 Pride Dressed in Religious Clothing 5:06 Humility Is Not Humiliation 5:23 When God Justifies the Humble 5:34 The Real Question Before Lent 6:00 Final Prayer for True Humility For more please visit https://www.youtube.com/@steliasbyzantinecatholicch5629 & say 3 Hail Marys for the priest 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SpiritusTV - https://spiritustv.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #PublicanAndPharisee #TrueHumility #GreatLent #Repentance #LordHaveMercy #ChristianSpirituality #CatholicFaith #OrthodoxChristian #Triodion #SpiritualPride #GospelReflection #JesusChrist