Our Response to God’s Goodness
Last Sunday Luke recounted for us our Lord’s parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector who each went to the Temple to pray. Our Lord told us that it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who went home justified in the eyes of God due to the humility of both his prayer and his heart. This parable has many lessons for us, one of which is that no one is beyond God’s mercy. This Sunday we hear about another tax collector named Zacchaeus.
Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was short in stature, and being a tax collector, was not well thought of by his local community. When Jesus passes through Jericho, Zacchaeus has to climb a sycamore tree to see the Lord since no one is willing to make room for Zacchaeus to get up front to see the Lord. Luke’s Gospel is known for showing our Lord making reversals; here, the Lord singles out Zacchaeus before the crowd, announcing that he must stay with Zacchaeus that day. In response to our Lord’s action in bringing Zacchaeus from the outside in, Zacchaeus converts his life and pledges a portion of his livelihood to be given away in charity.
Within the context of this story of Zacchaeus in the Gospel, our parish is also marking our annual Season of Stewardship and I am asking all of us to examine what our response is to God’s goodness in our lives through our prayer, financial giving, and service. Often we fall into the trap of giving God our “leftovers;” as disciples we are called to mark out a portion of all that we are for God first. This can be challenging or downright hard, but remember that God is never outdone in generosity and whatever we offer to him from ourselves will always be returned in greater portion. Please take some time to examine your own personal stewardship, discerning if God is asking you to increase some aspect of it. If we search within, we will find that God truly has done good things for us; what is our response to his goodness?
Gone Before Us in Faith: All Saints and All Souls
This Tuesday, November 1st, is the Solemnity of All Saints, the day when we honor all those in Heaven, especially the "small s" saints who are not formally canonized by the Church and who are known only to God. The Saints are not just models of holiness, they are also our friends, cheering us on in our earthly struggles and supporting us with their prayers so that we might eventually join with them in the praise of our God in Heaven. All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation and Masses will be offered on Monday evening at 5:30PM and on Tuesday at 7:00AM and 5:30PM.
Immediately following All Saints Day, the Church remembers all the faithful departed on All Souls Day, November 2nd, as well as through the whole month of November. Mass vestments on this day, as at funerals, may be white, violet, or black. The Church is especially mindful of those souls who, while dying in the state of grace, died with some remaining attachment to venial sin and are experiencing a process of spiritual cleansing and perfection in purgatory. The custom of praying for the dead is found in the Scriptures, with one of the primary references found in 2 Maccabees 12: 26, 32 which says "turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. Thus they made atonement for the dead that they might be free from sin."
Beginning on All Souls Day, the Book of Remembrance will be placed in front of the baptismal font so that you may inscribe within it the names of family and friends who have died; they will be remembered in prayer throughout the month of November. Our parish’s annual Mass of Remembrance for those who have died in the past year will be celebrated on Wednesday, November 2nd, at 5:30PM; Mass for All Souls will also be celebrated at 7:00AM on Wednesday morning.
Blessings to you and yours for the week ahead!
Father Chris House