Father, hear our prayers for the Salvation of the world. 
Grant Mercy to all souls that turned away from You. 
Open their hearts and minds with Your Light. 
Gather Your children from the east and the west, from the north and the south. 
Have mercy O God on those who do not know You. 
Bring them out of darkness into Your Light. 
You are our saving God who leads us in our Salvation. 
Protect us from evil. 
We bless and praise You O Lord; hear our prayers and answer us. 
You, our Savior, are the Hope of all the ends of the Earth and the distant seas. 
May Your way be known upon Earth; among all nations Your salvation. 
We put the world in Your Hands; fill us with Your Love. 
Grant us Peace through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

"The Son of God has come to seek and save the lost."(Luke 19: 10 )

Jesus died to save all men. This is something that should bring joy to our hearts for, often times, we cut ourselves off from God because of the bad choices we have made. Let us remember that we are included in the plan and purpose of god, not matter what.
God sees us among the crowds. He knows the efforts we make to be good. He is aware of our weakness, too. Yet, like Zaccheus, He comes to us today. Let us receive Him with joy and thanksgiving.
Lord, I know I am not lost or far from Your reach. May I find You always and every day. Thank You for saving me.

The Gospel is from St. Luke 19: 1-10. Zacchaeus's interest in seeing what Jesus was like was caused by something more than idle curiosity. Unknown to him, the grace of God was working within him. He thought that he just wanted to see what Jesus was like. Jesus knew already what Zacchaeus was like and intended to see him and save him from his downward rush after earthly wealth. He would offer him eternal riches. This is exactly what happened. Jesus entered the home and heart of Zacchaeus that day, and not only the home and heart of Zachaeus, but of his whole household. From that day Jesus had devoted followers in Jericho, and Christianity had a strong foothold in that ancient city.

We cannot have the slightest doubt that God wants us all in heaven. Neither can we doubt that he is sending out calls to us when we wander foolishly off the right road. Unfortunately for ourselves, we can refuse to listen to these calls. We can turn a deaf ear to God's offer of mercy and grace. If we do, one of our greatest sources of sorrow and regret in our future life, will be that, while we still had a chance to repent, our stupid stubbornness made us refuse to listen to our loving Father's calls to repentance.

Zacchaeus was not so stubborn or so foolish. The story of his conversion is put before us today, not as a matter of historical interest, but as a matter of vital spiritual interest. We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree. Jesus is approaching each one of us today by means of this very lesson which we have read.

Let each one of us try to see what Jesus is like. He is a loving brother who died that we might live, a fellowman who suffered tortures that we might have eternal joy. He was also the Son of God, the God of infinite Love. At the same time, let Jesus see us as we really are. Let us expose and confess to him all our earthly weaknesses and injustices against God and neighbor. He will find a remedy for us. He will put us back once more on the straight road to heaven. Today, salvation will come to us and to our house. We will become again true sons of Abraham, true heirs to heaven.
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God Bless each one of you


Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen

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