From The Bishop

The Collect for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary time states, “Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift your faithful offer you right and praiseworthy service, grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling to receive the things you have promised.” When we consider the Readings for this Sunday, we see that the last part of this prayer seems to describe quite beautifully what is happening in the Gospel (Lk. 19:1-10). Zacchaeus, who quickly descends from a sycamore tree, runs with haste to Jesus and receives salvation. Why did he climb a tree? We are told that, “He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.” When he saw the Lord, he joyfully responded to His invitation, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” St. Augustine states, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.” All people have written on their hearts the desire, like Zacchaeus, to “see Jesus”. One of the greatest things that can impede our vision is to forget the following words from the First Reading: “Lord, you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made, for you would not have made anything if you hated it”. If we focus only on the sin and not God’s love and mercy we will be blinded to this truth. The Church is like the sycamore tree of the Gospel. Through her sacramental life, teaching, preaching, and the holiness of her members, the Church helps us to see and know the Lord and respond to His invitation, “hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”