October 31, 2010 31st SUNDAY OF THE YEAR  (Cycle-- A)    ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Do not abandon me, Lord. My God, do not go away from me! Hurry to help me, Lord, my Saviour. PENITENTIAL RITE Through the story of Zacchaeus, the liturgy of today reminds us of the true nature of God: His merciful love towards sinners. Due to our sinfulness, we do not feel his closeness and love. With a repentant heart, let us now ask pardon for all our sins of commission and omission, and purify ourselves so that we can experience the closeness and the tenderness of Jesus’ love in this Eucharistic celebration. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER God of power and mercy, only with your help can we offer you fitting service and praise. May we live the faith we profess and trust your promise of eternal life. Grant this... FIRST READING (God who is almighty is at the same time compassionate and forgiving. God overlooks the sins of all people that they may repent.) A reading from the Book of Wisdom    (11:22–12:2) The whole world before thee, Lord, is like a speck that tips the scales, and like a drop of morning dew that falls upon the ground. But thou art merciful to all, for thou canst do all things, and thou dost overlook men’s sins, that they may repent. For thou lovest all things that exist, and hast loathing for none of the things which thou hast made, for thou wouldst not have made anything if thou hast hated it. How would anything have endured if thou hadst not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by thee have been preserved? Thou sparest all things, for they are thine, O Lord who lovest the living. For thy immortal spirit is in all things. Therefore thou dost correct little by little those who trespass, and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin, that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in thee, O Lord. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM     (144) Response: I will bless your name for ever, O God my King. I will give you glory, O God my King, I will bless your name for ever. I will bless you day after day and praise your name for ever. R./ The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures. R./ All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God. R./   The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds. The Lord supports all who fall and raises all who are bowed down. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul urges the Thessalonians to live a life worthy of their call. He encourages them not to be agitated or terrified at the thought of the Second Coming of Christ.) A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians   (1:11–2:2) We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfil every good resolve and work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION    (Jn 15:15) Alleluia, alleluia! I have called you friends, says the Lord, because all I have from my Father, I have made known to you, Alleluia! GOSPEL (The conversion of Zacchaeus, the chief tax-collector in Jericho, reminds us that we are all called to a change of life but we should make every effort to receive it like Zacchaeus.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke   (19:1-10) Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God... PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus our Saviour has revealed to us God as a loving Father. As Zacchaeus experienced mercy and love of Jesus, and received the gift of conversion, now let us entreat God for our conversion and for all our needs: Response: Lord, have mercy on your people. 1. We pray for our Pope, bishops and clergy: may the Holy Spirit guide them to carry out their responsibilities with wisdom and integrity; may they become compassionate like Christ to save the lost. R./ 2. We pray for the entire humanity: may all understand the passing nature of our human life, and the loving and compassionate nature of God; may your grace move everyone from a closed heart to an open heart, from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. R./ 3. We pray for Christians who are facing trials on account of difficulties and discouragements; may the grace of God help them to overcome all the obstacles and hardships in their lives. R./ 4. We pray for all consecrated men and women: may God grant them generosity of heart to use all their God-given powers in their ministries; let them not be discouraged by their failures and limitations. R./ 5. We pray for all gathered in this assembly: may our participation in this Eucharist help us make amendments for whatever is wrong in our lives and lead a life worthy of our Christian vocation. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: God of mercy and compassion, you never write off anyone. May this truth give us hope for our own lives, and serve as a model in our dealings with others. In your saving love, heal us and grant us the grace for a change of heart. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS God of mercy, may we offer a pure sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. We ask this... PREFACE      (29) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and every-where to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through his cross and resurrection he freed us from sin and death and called us to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. Everywhere we proclaim your mighty works, for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON Lord, you will show me the path of life and fill me with joy in your presence. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, you give us new hope in this Eucharist. May the power of your love continue its saving work among us and bring us to the joy you promise. We ask this...       LITURGY  AND  LIFE   The nature of created things: God is the creator and everything else in this universe is created. Created things are perishable and limited. They are “like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground” (First Reading). Human beings are weak and limited: we cannot do everything, we cannot know everything, we cannot live for ever! Notwithstanding all our efforts to overcome our limitations, we have utterly failed. This is the nature that we must accept, but without ignoring the provident plan of God for us. The ‘shortness’ of human beings: The First Reading affirms that creation is a sign of God’s love. If God had not loved creation, he would not have created it. In fact, everything is created with the foreknowledge of God. Therefore, nothing in the universe is a failed attempt of God. And no one can complain to God about having received less. The fact is that one is not recognized his or her strengths, and not aware of his or her potentials for growth. We may need a challenge to bring the best out of us. Zacchaeus was ‘short’ (Gospel). This is certainly not a description of his physique, but symbolises his spiritual shortness in exacting undue taxes. Hence, we must realize the fact that ‘shortness’ of human beings is not a God-made situation but man-made condition. Shortness is our strength: ‘Shortness’ is a human creation and it can be remedied. Zacchaeus believed that he could overcome his shortness. This belief is the first step towards growth. Then, shortness should prompt us to make greater effort. It is like a child who has to run in order to catch up with his father who walks. The greater effort of Zacchaeus is portrayed by his climbing a tree and by his non-hesitation to look stupid and “childish” among the crowd of the “adults”. His limited capacity did not prevent him from offering his best. It was this attitude of Zacchaeus that attracted Jesus, that made Jesus to stop and dine with him. In the shortness of Zacchaeus, God manifested his strength. There may be situations in life when we feel that the way to meet Jesus is closed. Oh, no! When one way seems to be closed there are more than ten opened! Instead of lamenting over the one closed, let us look for those which are opened. The nearness of God: God doesn’t ignore anyone; He sees everyone; He is close to everyone. Due to our sinfulness, we do feel far away from God. In fact, we cannot hide ourselves from His gaze; we do not have to go anywhere to be heard or seen by Him. Perhaps, Zacchaeus never expected Jesus to look up the tree as He walked across Jericho. But the unexpected happened. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him, “Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.” What the Lord requires of us is a cheerful acceptance of His Person. Jesus does not force his ways into our life, but he always knocks at the door of our hearts; if we open the door, he enters and stays with us. This stay of Jesus with us is the beginning of a lifelong romance with Jesus, and the beginning of a life of conformation to Christ.   The amazing thing is this: not only did Zacchaeus respond positively, but he did so immediately and joyfully. The consequences for him were enormous. It changed his life. His conversion was a conversion to goodness. To a greater or lesser degree, all of us need this kind of conversion. If we change our hearts, then we will change our lives too. —Fr Deavsia Puthiaparambil, ssp     November 2010     READINGS  OF  THE  WEEK     Psalter Week  3 1 Mon (W)    ALL SAINTS, Sol                      Rev 7:2-4,9-14; Ps 23:1-2,3-4ab,5-6; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12a 2 Tue (V)    ALL SOULS,  Readings from the Lectionary: for the Dead 3 Wed (W)   St Martin de Porres, Phil 2:12-18; Ps 26:1,4,13-14; Lk 14:25-33 4 Thu (W)    St Charles Borromeo, mem Phil 3:3-8a; Ps 104:2-3,4-5,6-7; Lk 15:1-10 5 Fri (G)      Phil 3:17-4:1; Ps 121:1-2,3-4ab,4cd-5; Lk 16:1-8   6 Sat (G)      Phil 4:10-19; Ps 111:1-2,5-6,8a&9; Lk 16:9-15