Re-sizing Zacchaues, the little man who became big through mercy received and given- Sunday's reading reflection

Jesus does not say anything about conversion, or giving up his day-job, or his fortune. Jesus says only that he desires to stay with this socially inert fellow. Zacchaeus is reduced, or re-sized to his dignity. He slides down the tree and welcomes Jesus joyfully. He also welcomes himself by reducing the size of his possessions. He fulfills the Jewish law of repayment and Luke has Zacchaeus do what the Rich Man in the previous chapter could not do, he gave half his riches to the “poor”. Conversion follows encounter; Jesus meets us and the relationship makes the difference in our actions.  What is his motivation?  My guess is that it comes from that we he himself inspired in the first reading.  

But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;

(Adapted from Larry Gillick, S.J.)

Is God enough for you? - Tomorrow's reading reflection - All Saints Day

What is the good life which God intends for us? And how is it related with the ultimate end or purpose of life? Is it not our desire and longing for true happiness, which is none other than the complete good, the sum of all goods, leaving nothing more to be desired? 

Jesus addresses this question in his sermon on the mount. The heart of Jesus' message is that we can live a very happy life. The call to holiness, to be saints who joyfully pursue God's will for their lives, can be found in these eight beatitudes. Jesus' beatitudes sum up our calling or vocation – to live a life of the beatitudes. The word beatitude literally means "happiness" or "blessedness".

What is the significance of Jesus' beatitudes, and why are they so central to his teaching? The beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness that God has placed in every heart. They teach us the final end to which God calls us, namely the coming of God's kingdom (Matthew 4:17), the vision of God (Matthew 5:8; 1 John 2;1), entering into the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:21-23) and into his rest (Hebrews 4:7-11).  Jesus' beatitudes also confront us with decisive choices concerning the life we pursue here on earth and the use we make of the goods he puts at our disposal. God alone satisfies. Theresa of Avila's prayer book contained a bookmark which she wrote:  "Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you; All things pass: God never changes. Patience achieves all it strives for. Whoever has God lacks nothing, God alone suffices." 

Is God enough for you? 

The beatitudes which Jesus offers us are a sign of contradiction to the world's understanding of happiness and joy. Let us gently strive to accomplish them daily.  The opportunities will be endless. 

(Adapted from Don Schwager)

Pope Francis is the world's 4th most powerful man says Forbes magazine

Pope Francis is the world's 4th most powerful man, according to Forbes Magazine!  

Click here to read more.

Signs, signs, everywhere are signs - Tomorrow's reading reflection

Paul’s letter to the Romans includes powerful words of encouragement, seemingly spoken to people in the midst of a struggle that may not be going so well.  When you are being “slain all the day” and “looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered”, neither the present nor the immediate future looks very promising.  The love of our God may indeed seem far from us as we look for signs of his favor in the midst of that struggle. But maybe that is because we are looking for the wrong signs or refuse to accept the signs before us.

The gospel reading ends with Jesus using a metaphor of a hen seeking to gather an unwilling brood.  Chicks instinctively know to retreat to the warmth and safety of their mother.  I have never observed an unwilling chick, and if one did exist, it would not last long -- which makes this metaphor all the more powerful.   Jesus is lamenting the stubborn refusal to see signs so obvious they could not be missed.

(Adapted from  Edward Morse)

Let Him do his thing - Tomorrow's reading reflection

We are not slogging through a narrow gate on our own.  We are not aiming for the narrow gate to claim a short-term win for self-discipline or glory. When we journey with Jesus through the narrow gate, we work with him to open the world around us to its kingdom potential.  

Not only that but he also provides an advocate to pray with us and for us. Relish in the thought that our relationship with Jesus brings powerful prayer on our behalf, constantly.  What a thought!  Recognize that if you are in a Christian community of some sort, you also have your brothers and sisters in Christ who also have this supernatural prayer assistance, and one of those individuals may very well be praying for you right now.  

We don’t have to have answers or even know the right questions to pray.  God knows we are often confused and don’t know what to pray for ourselves and for others.  So... just give him the time- and let him do his thing.

(Adapted from Sue Crawford)

You gotta keep your head up - Tomorrow's reading reflection

"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us."

I love the perspective Paul's words give us. But, sometimes the "sufferings of this present time" do get out of perspective and we forget about "the glory to be revealed to us."

(Adapted from Andy Alexander)