October 31, 2010
The infamous tax collector, Zacchaeus, is regarded as the type of man who would never be allowed into God's kingdom. He is a toll collector, which puts him at odds with the faithful Jews who want to overthrow Roman rule, and he is dishonest because he has defrauded many in his craft. Also, he is a wealthy man and Jesus makes it clear that it is difficult for one who is rich to enter God's kingdom. Despite wealth, he is eager to see Jesus. He does not fear the judgment Jesus may have about his wealth.
Luke's Gospel shows that God's kingdom is inclusive. Many people who are discarded by this world's ruling elite are welcome in this kingdom. The wealthy are invited too, but a rich person who struggles with attachments to possessions finds it difficult to accept the invitation. Zacchaeus is free from those attachments and is open to the message of salvation Jesus brings. The moral here is the outcast (ironically, a rich man) is not outside the pale of God's chosen people. The extent of this inclusivity shakes up even the closest followers of Jesus, as it once did the religious leaders.
Ironically, the name "Zacchaeus" means "clean." His name reveals his changed nature. He is a man who used to be a sinner, but he resolves to change his ways. He is not a sinner in the present tense because he is now living in the manner God wants him to live: as a man who is generous and just. This new way of living increases his desire to see Jesus. He is happy because his true self has now emerged into reality.
Jesus announces to Zacchaeus that salvation has come to his house. This statement makes the claim that the presence of Jesus makes possible what is humanly impossible. Paul affirms this in his letter to the Thessalonians when he tells people that the Christ within us will help us powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and that Christ will be glorified in us.
We are to be like Zacchaeus who is open to the possibilities that Jesus offers. We can let the presence of Jesus turn our lives around just as it did with Zacchaeus. This involves great risk - because we can lose all we gained in life. This involved great trust - because we primarily rely upon our own resources and we haven't struggled enough with our own attachments to possessions. It would be good if we could place ourselves in the hands of God just as the author of Wisdom does in the first reading. He recognizes God's mission of mercy and is filled with wonder and gratitude.
God's mercy is shown with Zacchaeus because we see Jesus acting once again as the good shepherd - as the one who seeks out the lost and brings him home. God does not place obstacles in our path. God removes them. We keep putting them back in our way. God's invitation has no limits or boundaries. Tell Christ what it would take for you to take one step beyond a boundary that still binds you. Let his presence do something you might not expect.
Quote for the Week
Prayer: Pope John XXIII
True peace is born of doing the will of God, and bearing with patience the sufferings of this life, and does not come from following one’s own whim or selfish desire, for this always brings, not peace and serenity, but disorder and discontent.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First Reading: The week begins with reflections on the faithful departed and then continues with Paul's letter to the Philippians when he tells the people to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. The mark of a believer is joy. He tells the people that circumcision is no longer the sign of God's elect - the possession of the Holy Spirit is the real sign. One's citizenship is in heaven and one is to conform one's action to this reality. We do this when we imitate Christ. In all circumstances, we are to rejoice because of the wondrous event God has done for us in Christ.
Gospel: The journey of Jesus heads to the cross. He tells disciples that they may have to turn away from family to join his new family. One is to prepare oneself for this new life. Jesus tells two parables of finding what was once lost to illustrate the joy God feels when a sinner repents. He illustrates in parables the importance of safeguarding the words of Jesus in a way similar to a master who entrusts his steward with his wealth. The believer is to prove himself trustworthy, even if it is with dishonest wealth, so he can be seen as trustworthy by others.
Saints of the Week
Monday: The Solemnity of All Saints honors the countless faithful believers - living and dead - who have helped us along in our faith. We have a liturgical calendar filled with canonized saints; we have a list of blesseds and those minor saints who no longer appear on the calendar. We have particular saints for each part of the world. We also have the many people in our lives who live out the Gospel values, as emphasized in the Beatitudes, who we appreciate and imitate.
Tuesday: All Souls Day is the commemoration of all the faithful departed. November is known as All Souls Month as we take the entire month to remember those who have died as we hasten towards the end of the liturgical year and the great feast of Christ the King. As a tradition, we have always remembered our dead as a way of keeping them alive to us and giving thanks to God for their lives.
Wednesday: Rupert Mayer, priest, was a Jesuit who resisted the Nazi Third Reich government. In 1937, he was placed in protective custody. He was eventually released when he agreed that he would no longer preach. He died while saying Mass in 1945 of a stroke.
Martin de Porres, Religious, was a Peruvian born of a Spanish knight and a Panamanian Indian woman. Because he was not pure blood, he lost many privileges in the Spanish ruling classes. He became a Dominican and served the community in many menial jobs. He was known for tending to the sick and the poor and for keeping a rigorous prayer life.
Thursday: Charles Borromeo lived in the 16th century and at age 22 was made the Bishop of Milan as he was the nephew of Pope Pius IV. He was a leading Archbishop in the Catholic Reformation that followed the Council of Trent. During a plague epidemic, Borromeo visited the hardest hit areas so he could provide pastoral services to the sick.
Friday: Jesuits set aside a special day, All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus, to remember specifically all the deceased Jesuits who make it onto our own liturgical calendar. We remember not only the major saints on the calendar, but also those who are in the canonization process and hold the title Blessed, like Peter Faber. We pray for the souls of all deceased Jesuits during the month in our province listing of the dead (necrology.)
This Week in Jesuit History
• Oct 31, 1602. At Cork, the martyrdom of Dominic Collins, an Irish brother, who was hanged, drawn, and quartered for his adherence to the faith.
• Nov 1, 1956. The Society of Jesus was allowed in Norway.
• Nov 2, 1661. The death of Daniel Seghers, a famous painter of insects and flowers.
• Nov 3, 1614. Dutch pirates failed to capture the vessel in which the right arm of Francis Xavier was being brought to Rome.
• Nov 4, 1768. On the feast of St Charles, patron of Charles III, King of Spain, the people of Madrid asked for the recall of the Jesuits who had been banished from Spain nineteen months earlier. Irritated by this demand, the king drove the Archbishop of Toledo and his Vicar General into exile as instigators of the movement.
• Nov 5, 1660. The death of Alexandre de Rhodes, one of the most effective Jesuit missionaries of all time. A native of France, he arrived in what is now Vietnam in 1625.
• Nov 6, 1789. Fr. John Carroll of Maryland was appointed to be the first Bishop of Baltimore.
Jesuit Vocation Day
November 5th is set aside each year in the Jesuit calendar to promote vocations. We do so because it is the Feast of All Jesuit Saints and Blesseds. We remember all the priests and brothers who have served the church faithfully and who are part of our Jesuit Institute. We sincerely want to invite men who believe they have a call from God to serve the church in the footsteps of Ignatius and his first companions.
It is a good life. It is a difficult vocation at times, but nothing in life is every really easy. It is amazing to see all the good that is done in the world by Jesuits and their faithful companions.
To Young Men: Please contact a Jesuit if you want to explore God's promptings in your life.
To Mothers: You are invaluable in sponsoring your son's vocation. Please strengthen the church by guiding your son into the priesthood or religious life. You will never lose him. You will gain more companions that you ever thought possible. You, your son, and the church will receive fine gifts.
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