Jesus challenges the Pharisees and says “But go you and learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ...

By keeping sinners, tax collectors, and the ritually unclean at arm’s length, the Pharisees already closed themselves off to the adjacent possibilities of what life with such individuals could ...

Vatican City, Apr 20, 2016 / 04:44 am. On Wednesday Pope Francis stressed the importance of knowing how to distinguish between sin and sinner, adding that God's mercy is not afraid to reach out ...

The scribes and Pharisees, official watchdogs over moral and religious rectitude, did not know they were sinners, while most ordinary people Jesus was appealing to were well aware of their weaknesses.

National Review. Sinners, Saints, and a Synod. WFB 100; Donate; Corner; Magazine; Login; Subscribe ...

The Pharisee stood and prayed God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even as this tax collector. ... "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." ...

Jesus saw sinners taking heaven by storm while the Pharisees remained outside in the specious certitude of their own worthiness. Jesus could not reach them in their solitude and self-assurance.

Simcha Fisher. Simcha Fisher is a speaker, freelance writer and author of The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning. She blogs daily at simchafisher.com and weekly at The Catholic Weekly.

If someone is lacking autonomy, they can be pompous and self-divinized on one hand or an existential wasteland on the other.