Mass Readings – 31st Sunday of the Year
Zacchaeus responds to the call of Christ, and shows us how we can respond to the Lord everyday – both in our personal lives and our support for one another.
Tag Archives: Repentance
31st Sunday of the Year – The Lord comes to seek and save what was lost
Study: Consider a moment when you were publicly put on the spot. How did you react when others scrutinized your actions?
Pray: Is there a stirring in your heart to change something difficult? Ask the Lord for the grace to make it happen.
Serve: Are there people in your life who are trying to make a change for the better? How can you support them?
Mass Readings – 31st Sunday of the Year
What shall me make of Zacchaeus? The Gospel of Luke shows this encounter between him and Jesus. Consider these points about Zacchaeus:
- He is a chief tax collector – no one likes him!
- He is wealthy and powerful.
- He is “short of stature” so he has to climb a tree to see Jesus.
- He repents, giving half his possessions to the poor and promising to pay back fourfold to anyone from whom he has extorted money.
Tax collectors were despised in the Jewish culture. They were Jews who collaborated with the Roman Empire and often used unscrupulous ways to get money from their neighbors. Thus the title “sinners” was commonly given to them as people who flagrantly rejected God’s law.
Now add to this attitude the element of the ridiculous. Here is a wealthy, powerful, short, sinner…standing in a sycamore tree to see Jesus! Something is going on in his heart, and as the crowd blocks his view (and he can’t get near) he does the only thing he can to glimpse the Lord.
And that means that he stands out. His repentance – and God’s merciful grace – now become a public act. People see Zacchaeus and Jesus, they grumble, and the Lord shows that no one is left out of God’s mercy. Here are a few final questions to ponder today:
- Like Zacchaeus, is there something in me that is calling for a change of heart?
- Am I willing to make a change, even if it means calling unwanted attention to myself?
- Am I like the crowd, grumbling when someone experiences mercy?
God’s mercy is present to the world. Zacchaeus made the change, encountered the Lord, and received the transforming grace of Christ. His example shows us the way to experience the love of Jesus in our hearts today.
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Daily Mass: Repent! Catholic Inspiration
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 29th Week of the Year
The Lord makes it clear in Luke’s Gospel that we all need to repent of our sins and turn to the Lord.
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4th Sunday of Lent – Two Sons
Study: Reflect on your life for a moment. When was a time you really (REALLY) messed up? When was a time you were upset that others didn’t “get what they deserve” when it came to punishment?
Pray: What in your life needs God’s forgiveness and mercy right now? Ask for the Lord’s grace.
Serve: How can you reach out to others, to foster reconciliation and a new beginning? How can you help heal a situation in your life?
4th Sunday of Lent Readings – Year C
Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast
Who doesn’t know the parable of the Prodigal Son? This story told by Jesus has 3 main characters:
- The Father – who reaches out to his sons
- The Younger Son – who is reckless and wasteful in his sins
- The Older Son – who is angry and unwilling to forgive his brother
Let’s start with the Younger Son. He messes up – no question about that. He presumes his inheritance, wastes it on sinful living, and is reduced to abject poverty through his own fault. Finally, at the end of his rope he comes to his senses and asks for mercy, if only to be a servant in his Father’s house.
The Older Son is dutiful, hard working, and faithful. He does his duty and carries out every command. Yet when he hears how the Father celebrates his younger brother’s return he is angry…it’s not fair!
Finally the Father. Note how the Father goes out to both of his sons. The Father takes the initiative:
- with the Younger Son he runs out to meet him and assure him a place in the household
- with the Older Son he goes out to meet him to encourage forgiveness and welcome
Perhaps we might use the next few days to consider this simple question: Which Son am I? Have I made some really bad mistakes, caused harm, and wounded relationships with others? Have I held on to a grudge, nursing old injuries, unwilling to forgive and seek reconciliation? Or perhaps we are a mixture of both – making our share of messes and denying mercy to those in need.
Whatever we discover about ourselves, we will find our Father who comes to meet us where we are and lead us to a deeper level of grace. May we return to the Lord in our need and be filled with the grace of healing reconciliation.
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If you are looking for more material to help you this Lent, you might consider this list of presentations I have offered over the last couple of years. Feel free to check it out and share if you find it helpful:
Podcast Resources for a Powerful Lent
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Daily Mass: Repent and Hope in the Lord. Catholic Inspiration
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily – Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent
The parable of Lazarus and the rich man bring the urgent need for repentance to light. The season of Lent repeatedly reminds us to turn away from our sins as we find our hope in the grace and mercy of God.
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If you are looking for more material to help you this Lent, you might consider this list of presentations I have offered over the last couple of years. Feel free to check it out and share if you find it helpful:
Podcast Resources for a Powerful Lent
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3rd Sunday of Lent – Repent
Study: Reflect on a time when you were forgiven. What steps took place to make it happen?
Pray: Is there something in your life that’s prompting you to repent? Ask the Lord for the strength to do it!
Serve: Is there a situation in your life that you can help bring healing and reconciliation? How might you be an instrument of God’s grace?
3rd Sunday of Lent Readings – Year C
Here’s a quick recap of the readings this week:
- 1st Reading: Moses encounters God in the Burning Bush
- Psalm: The Lord is kind and merciful
- 2nd Reading: Paul reminds the Corinthians not to grumble, like the people did with Moses
- Gospel: Jesus calls us to repent
On the one hand we hear how God takes pity on our plight, has great mercy, and longs to heal and love us. On the other hand, we also hear the crucial need to repent – to turn away from our sins and draw near to the Lord.
Remember this: God requires our repentance so that we can freely receive his mercy and forgiveness. Reconciliation means nothing if we aren’t sorry for what we have said and done. What’s more, without repentance we cannot begin to comprehend the unconditional love of Jesus on the Cross.
So what is our path to repentance? Consider these basic steps:
- Take time to review a good Examination of Conscience. If you haven’t looked at one for a long time, click here to see several versions from the US Bishops.
- After you have reflected on the Examination, what speaks to your heart? What sins is your conscience bringing up in your life?
- If the sin is against another, sometimes the easiest thing is simply to go to the person and say “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you.”
- If the sin is bigger, make the effort to go to Confession – one of the greatest gifts we possess in the Church.
The Lord is calling us – out of his awesome grace, mercy, and forgiveness – to repent. Make this Lent extra special, and may all of us take the time to review our hearts and be about the business of God’s healing love.
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If you are looking for more material to help you this Lent, you might consider this list of presentations I have offered over the last couple of years. Feel free to check it out and share if you find it helpful:
Podcast Resources for a Powerful Lent
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Daily Mass: Repentance. Catholic Inspiration
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast – Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent
Jonah preaches to the people and they repent – through the signs of sackcloth, fasting, and supplication. When the people ask Jesus for a sign he recalls what happened at Nineveh, and he invites us to offer this “sign” of repentance that comes from our hearts – turning from sin and following the Lord.
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If you are looking for more material to help you this Lent, you might consider this list of presentations I have offered over the last couple of years. Feel free to check it out and share if you find it helpful:
Podcast Resources for a Powerful Lent
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Ash Wednesday. Catholic Inspiration
Ashes are common in our daily life – every fire leads to them. But note these two qualities:
- They are dirty
- They are lifeless
Welcome to the reality of sin: The ashes we wear are an outward sign that we wish to turn away from all that soils our souls and harms our hearts. May the words we hear today help us to seek the cleansing life that comes from Christ. The words are clear:
Repent, and Believe in the Gospel!
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If you are looking for more material to help you this Lent, you might consider this list of presentations I have offered over the last couple of years. Feel free to check it out and share if you find it helpful:
Podcast Resources for a Powerful Lent
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Ash Wednesday
Study: Reflect on a moment when sin has touched your life. Where did you find God’s grace at work?
Pray: Take some time for personal reflection. Make this an Examination of Conscience to recall how God continues to touch your heart and bless your life.
Serve: Consider a simple and practical way that you can care for another this Lent. Something personal…something real.
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
These are the words we hear today as we come forward to begin a new Lent. We physically mark our foreheads – smudge them with grimy ashes – to recall the simple fact that we are all sinners and stand in need of God’s mercy.
And what great mercy it is! Perhaps that’s why we pause. We need mercy. We crave forgiveness. We hunger to be loved simply and gently, no strings attached, no conditions required.
These ashes remind us that we need….God.
Pause today. We reflect on what is broken or wounded in our lives – to discover where we are hurting.
Then look outward. This is our opportunity to consider how we have broken or wounded others – recognizing that perhaps another has suffered through our thoughts, words, or deeds.
Ashes.
Repentance.
God’s Grace.
Have a blessed and holy Lent.
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3rd Sunday of the Year – Repent, and Believe in the Gospel
Study: Recall a time when you made a serious mistake. What steps did you take to make it right? Do you have any unfinished work that needs to be done?
Pray: Saying “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you” can be very difficult; don’t try it alone! Ask the Lord for the grace and strength.
Serve: How can you help another on the path to repentance? How might you encourage people to seek healing and forgiveness?
3rd Sunday of the Year Readings
Remember back in elementary school when we all learned long division? Perhaps you remember some of those really long problems that took a whole sheet of paper to write? I recall the excitement when I found the answers at the end of the book, only to have my hopes crushed when the dreaded words “show your work” were part of the instructions…
To demonstrate the exercise our 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Tempesta, would put a problem on the chalk board and demonstrate line by line, showing the work and how the process repeats until you made your way through the entire problem. At the end you would have the answer, with all the work to prove it.
I remember asking Mrs. Tempesta what would happen if you made a mistake early on in the process. She smiled and repeated the problem along side the original – with one tiny mistake. The wrong answer at the end of the work glared at our class; when we asked what do you do if your answer doesn’t match the solution in the book, she replied, “You have to start at the beginning, find your mistake, and rework a new solution.”
Welcome to repentance.
We all make mistakes: we say things we can’t take back; do things we regret; allow things to happen that we’d give anything to erase. And while we can’t change the past our faith tells us that we have a process that can bring healing and restore relationships. Like long division, we find our mistakes, REPENT, and rework a solution that follows a new path of behavior.
The words “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you” are some of the most powerful in any language. The first reading and the Gospel today are especially adamant that we take them to heart – repenting of our sins and choosing a Godly path that brings healing to our lives. Remember: God never gives up on us! The process looks like this:
- We run through our own personal examination of conscience
- We admit it – perhaps directly or in the Sacrament of Confession
- We are sorry for the hurt we have done, acknowledging our sins/mistakes
- We do our part to make it right – doing what we can to fix and heal
- We call upon God’s healing grace and strength
Perhaps it’s been awhile since we stepped into a confessional. Perhaps it’s been awhile since we have honestly looked into our hearts. Today we can take a moment to look inside, see what doesn’t belong, and make the move to repent of our sins and turn to the Lord. May we see in the example of Jonah and Jesus today that we have hope; God keeps calling – inviting us to turn away from sin and embrace the Good News.
And if you are looking for some help in checking out your heart, try these options for an Examination of Conscience.
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