Sunday, October 30
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Roman Ordinary calendar
St. Marcellus, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
Book of Wisdom 11,22-26.12,1-2.
Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent.
For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!
Psalms 145(144),1-2.8-9.10-11.13.14.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
Second Letter to the Thessalonians 1,11-12.2,1-2.
Brothers and sisters: we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19,1-10.
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 to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all 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.”
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897)
Carmelite, Doctor of the Church
Letter 137, to her sister, Celine (General correspondence, vol. II, p. 761, trans. John Clarke OCD, Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites,1988, alt.)
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly”
Jesus has attracted us together, although by different ways, together he raised us above all the fragile things of this world whose image passes away. He has placed, so to speak, all things under our feet. Like Zachaeus, we climbed a tree to see Jesus. … Then we could say with Saint John of the Cross: “All is mine, all is for me, the earth is mine, the heavens are mine, God is mine, and the Mother of my God is mine.” …
Celine, what a mystery is our grandeur in Jesus! This is all that Jesus has shown us in making us climb the symbolic tree about which I was just talking to you. And now, what science is he about to teach us? Has he not taught us all? Let us listen to what he is saying to us: “Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” Well, Jesus tells us to come down. To where, then, must we come down? Celine, you know better than I, however, let me tell you where we must now follow Jesus. In days gone by, the Jews asked our divine Savior: “Master, where do you live?” And he answered: “Foxes have their dens and birds of the sky their nests, but I have nowhere to rest my head.” (Jn 1:38; Mt 8:20). This is where we must descend in order that we may serve as an abode for Jesus. To be so poor that we do not have a place to rest our head.
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
You must be logged in to post a comment.