TUESDAY OF THE THIRTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME-Gospel (Lk 19:1-10)- THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” (Lk 19:7)

FIRST READING - RV 3:1-6, 14-22

A reading from the Book of Revelation

I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:

“To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this:

“‘The one who has the seven spirits of God

and the seven stars says this: “I know your works,

that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,

for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.

If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief,

and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.

However, you have a few people in Sardis

who have not soiled their garments;

they will walk with me dressed in white,

because they are worthy.“‘

The victor will thus be dressed in white,

and I will never erase his name from the book of life

but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father

and of his angels.

“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”“

"To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this:

“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness,

the source of God’s creation, says this:

“I know your works;

I know that you are neither cold nor hot.

I wish you were either cold or hot.

So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,

I will spit you out of my mouth.

For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’

and yet do not realize that you are wretched,

pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,

and white garments to put on

so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed,

and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.

Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.

Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

then I will enter his house and dine with him,

and he with me.

I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne,

as I myself first won the victory

and sit with my Father on his throne.

“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear

what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - LK 19:1-10

From the Gospel according to Luke

At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.

Now a man there named Zacchaeus,

who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,

was seeking to see who Jesus was;

but he could not see him because of the crowd,

for he was short in stature.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,

who was about to pass that way.

When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,

“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,

for today I must stay at your house.”

And he came down quickly and received him with joy.

When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying,

“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,

“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,

and if I have extorted anything from anyone

I shall repay it four times over.”

And Jesus said to him,

“Today salvation has come to this house

because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.

For the Son of Man has come to seek

and to save what was lost.”

TUESDAY OF THE THIRTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME-Gospel (Lk 19:1-10)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God in today's Gospel recounts the story of Jesus visiting the house of Zacchaeus. He was a sinful tax collector known throughout the city.

The Word of God today reminds everyone that God is love. He loves everyone and does not exclude anyone. God came to the world to seek and save what was lost, to save those who are living far from God. In today's world, people commit many sins; people live far from God, far from His love; people often turn to themselves rather than to God. God says: He loves and comes to sinners to help them return to the righteous path of God, as in the past God Himself came to Zacchaeus, a sinful tax collector. Thanks to the loving presence of God, it touched his heart, helped him to repent and abandon the path of sin and return to God. He showed his repentance for his sins by giving half of his property to the poor, and returning four times as much to those he had harmed; this is the image of paying back justice to God and to others.

God calls people today:

Turn to God, listen and follow His teachings;

Truly repent, abandon the path of sin and return to God and make peace with Him, make peace with others.

God uses the image of Zacchaeus who knew how to repent and repay God's justice, so He also invites people in today's world to know how to return everything that belongs to God, return everything that does not belong to them to others, because that is justice and righteousness before God; and after leaving this world, people will also be judged to repay God's justice and righteousness.

In today's world, God is calling on people to listen to and practice God's teachings: do not walk upon the path of the world, do not walk upon the path of darkness. Walk on the path of light, walk on the path of truth, walk on the path of love that God has taught and called for.

God is love. He calls everyone to run to Him so that He can give His loving heart to everyone. All those who come to pray to Him will have their hearts warmed by God's love, and will be provided for and cared for in everything. Because God is Love and He came to the world to save people from the captivity of Satan, as He came to save Zacchaeus' soul from the path of sin.

Therefore, the Word of God today invites everyone: be courageous and come to God to receive the love He gives. Thanks to God's love, people will become transformed into a person belonging to God. Thus, the life of the Kingdom of Heaven will be present in that person's soul.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

19:00 November 19th, 2024 Prayer of Divine Mercy - The Way to Heaven