Reflection for Zacchaeus -- 3 Nov 2019

The first reading from Mass this morning was from the book of Wisdom:

But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook sins for the sake of repentance.

For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for you would not fashion what you hate.

How could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?

The Gospel reading from Mass this morning is the story of   Zacchaeus.  He was a chief tax collector in the city of Jericho.

Now Zacchaeus, like each and every one of us, was made by God, and He loathes nothing that He has made.  God does not loathe the sinner, but as St. Benedict reminds us:

God does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and live.

This great sinner was called by Jesus who said to him:

"Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." 

And the Gospel closes today with Jesus saying:

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.

So, we who are sinners can know and understand that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not to condemn them.  And by looking at a crucifix we can see the lengths He goes so that we might be with Him always.

Therefore, let us repent of the evil we have done, and enter through the narrow gate into the hand of God, where no torment can touch us.

Kathryn Lopez on archbishop Chaput

A few days ago Kathryn Lopez wrote an article praising Archbishop Charles Chaput, the archbishop of Philadelphia.  The occasion for this article was the 75th birthday of the archbishop and his submission of a letter of resignation as is customary now.

She writes:

Archbishop Chaput has been a good spiritual father to many people — maybe especially lay people trying to live Catholic lives in the world faithfully and even courageously. He’s a great gift, a man of humility and clarity and humor and courage.

I have read many articles, speeches, homilies, and books by the archbishop, and second her heartfelt thanks to him, and to God for this fine shepherd of the little flock of Christ.

You should read her article at National Review.

Strive To Enter Through The Narrow Gate

Today's readings from Mass include the Gospel from St Luke, where Jesus says:

Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. 

Who of us can enter on our own power?  Sin clings to us, like oil floating on water that we wade through.  We can not clean ourselves.  As the psalm says

Too heavy for us our offenses, but you Oh Lord wipe them away.

There was song popular in the 1960s entitled knocking on heaven's door.  Here's a recording of it by Bob Dylan:

But you can't get there under your own power.  We are completely dependant on the Mercy of God who is very generous.

It is the Power of Christ working in us through the ministry of the Church by which we are made whole and made holy, that we enter through the narrow gate.

As Lumen Gentium says, Christ, by His passion, death and resurrection has opened the gate of heaven.  He is himself the gate and the path that leads to the gate.

Let us strive to enter through the narrow gate, where we will be in the hand of God where no torment can touch us.

Father Longenecker on Father James Martin SJ

I ran across a blog post from Father Longenecker about an twitter post by Fr James Martin SJ, on the NewAdvent.org home page.  He incorporates the twitter post within his blog post.

Fr Martin is championing an article published by America  the magazine of the Jesuit Order.  Fr Martin writes:

It is stupefying to me that women cannot preach at Mass.

It is apparent that Fr Martin suffers from a common post Vatican II disorder. 

Beginning around the middle of the 1970s many in the Church stopped talking about or acknowledging the Apostolic Succession.  For decades I never heard anyone, lay or clergy, who taught in the Church speak of the Apostolic Succession.  It was as though the Church had forgotten her own story, and her members and teachers had become protestants.

Have any of them ever read Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church published by the second Vatican Council? ( see link )

In the late 1990s or early 2000s my parish began having a nun give a homily once a month (they told us it was a 'reflection' not a homily).  I spoke against this practice to my pastor to no avail.

She actively undermined the Apostolic Succession, preaching that we are all Shepherds, and thus minimizing the significance of the distinction between laity and the ordained.

This is and has been a serious problem within the church.  It has been coupled to "the development of doctrine" and leads to people telling you "we're just ahead of the church. "  "What we say is what the Church will believe in 300 years."

Bad news for the Church.

Shame on Fr James Martin.

You should read Fr Longenecker's Article.