November 17, 2015

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Lk 19: 1-10

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translation

In God’s Path

While we cannot force God to act a certain way, we can certainly put ourselves in God’s path. Jesus was on his way somewhere, and seeing Zacchaeus was enough to stop Jesus in his tracks and change his course. What did Jesus see in Zacchaeus? God-made-human was on his way to turn the rest of the world upside down; but the zealous curiosity of Zacchaeus was enough for God to become personally invested in turning Zacchaeus’ own world upside down. What is it about Jesus of Nazareth that enflames a curiosity in you? What part of you would you like to put in God’s path? —Michael Lamanna, S.J. is a Jesuit scholastic of the USA Northeast Jesuit province. He is currently studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

Prayer

O breathe on me, O Breath of God, fill me with life anew. That I may love the things you love, and do what you would do. O breathe on me, O Breath of God, until my heart is pure. Until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure. O breathe on me, O Breath of God, my will to yours incline. Until this selfish part of me, glows with your fire divine. O breathe on me, O Breath of God, so I shall never die, But live with you the perfect life, for all eternity. —Edwin Hatch (1835-1889), © 1990, OCP Publications, Inc.
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