XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
TIME - CYCLE C – OCTOBER 30, 2016
- Today's Gospel reading is again about a tax collector.
- Last week's parable was about a tax collector who acknowledged his sinfulness and asked God for forgiveness, and he returned home justified.
- Today it is about a real character, not a parable, but a real man called Zacchaeus, the tax collector from Jericho. He wanted to see Jesus, and Jesus surprised him because he also wanted to see him.
THE BOOK OF WISDOM
v Again
the liturgy takes the first reading from the wisdom literature, the Book of
Wisdom
v This
book is known as a "deuterocanonical book". In the Catholic tradition
the deuterocanonical books are considered revealed by God , but this is not so among the Jewish community of faith and the
other Christian traditions.
v Chapters
11 to 19 are a meditation on the
exodus.
v Gianfranco
Ravassi in his commentary says that chapters 11 to 19 of this jewel of the Jewish
Greek literature of Alexandria in Egypt has a chapter on the invincible love of
God toward his creatures, even being sinful.
v FIRST
READING: Wis11:22-12,2
ü Everything
that has been created is small before God, but God takes care of all.
ü God
takes care especially of the human being, and
the book of Wisdom tells us that this is so because God can do all
things.
ü and
it continues saying something surprising, God overlooks people's sins, he does
not want to see our sins, to offer to us the opportunity to repent.
ü What
a different image of God from the one we project some times with our words and
our attitudes!
ü Another
beautiful expression is found on verse 26 "but you forgive all because
they are yours, O Lord the friend of life.
ü God
is the friend of life, and sometimes it
seems that we are the friends of death, because the society we have built and
continue to built is full of the violence of death.
ü We
have allowed ourselves to be deceived by the evil spirit who has convinced us
that what is good is bad, and what is bad is good!
ü God
does much more, he reprimands us little by little, in the way only him knows and thus little by little he
molds our being, and offers us the opportunity
to discover his presence in our life, and when this happens we cannot reject
his love any longer, and thus we surrender
ourselves to him.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM 145:1-2. 8-9. 10-11. 13,14
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME FOR EVER, MY KING AND MY GOD
I will extol you,
O my God and King
and I will bless
your name forever and ever
Everyday will I
bless you
and I will praise
your name forever and ever.
The Lord is gracious and merciful
slow to anger and
of great kindness
The Lord is good
to all
and compassionate
toward all his works.
Let all your
works give you thanks, O Lord
and let your
faithful ones bless you
Let them
discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your
might.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and holy in all
his works
The Lord lift up
all who are falling
and raises up all
who are bow down.
Ø
The praises to God for his works has been sung from generation to
generation, up to the psalmist time
Ø
He has to continue this long chain of praises and he does it with
his psalm.
Ø
This praise is the poet's, but also ours.
Ø
Let us join our voices to this praise, let us sing, dance,
joyfully dance because our God loves us and he is great and powerful.
GOSPEL Lk 19:1-10










v
he has entered the house of a sinner, it seems that we forget that
we all are sinners.
v
salvation has come to this house, yes with Jesus salvation comes
to us and renews all the different aspects of our being.
v
Everything is restored, made a new creation.



SECOND
READING 2 Tes 1:11-22
v
We are not one hundred
percent sure that this letter has been written by Paul, the scholars keep
looking for answers. It seems that it was written by one of his disciples.
v
The author prays to God for the community of Thessalonica, that it
may be worthy of the call it has received, and thus live its faith responsibly.
v
All of this for the glory and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ's
name.
v
It seems that the community was upset by things that had been told
to them, as if Paul had written them.
v
The author says to them that he has not written anything of what
upsets them.
v
Afterwards he calms them
explaining that the second coming of the Lord is not so imminent as some think.
v
On this theme of the second coming there is a great difference
between the first letter and the second to the Thessalonians. In the first Paul
himself was speaking as if it was imminent.
CLARETIAN CORNER

I tell myself: A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a
man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires
mightily and strives by all means possible to set the whole world on fire with
God's love. Nothing daunts him; he delights in privations, welcomes work,
embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander, and rejoices in suffering. His only
concern is how he can best follow Jesus Christ and imitate Him in working,
suffering, and striving constantly and single-mindedly for the greater glory of
God and the salvation of souls. Saint Anthony Mary
Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 494.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, Antonio María Claret, Autobiografía.
PAGOLA,
José A. Following in the Footsteps of
Jesus. Meditations on the Gospels for Year C.
PARIS, María Antonia, Autobiografía
RAVASI, Gianfranco, Según
las Escrituras, Año C.
The
Catholic Study Bible -New American Bible.